A/HRC/18/47 14. Another issue is the continued use of certain restraints despite their prohibition under the domestic legal framework. At a seminar on health in prison held under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior in September 2010, some directors of provincial hospitals complained that prisoners were chained to beds. OHCHR followed up with the authorities and other partners in Pursat province, and contributed to securing a hospital room for sick prisoners. Prisoners in need of hospitalization can thus be transferred to the hospital in such a way that their safe custody is ensured and their human dignity is respected. OHCHR has been seeking to assist in rolling out similar solutions in other provinces. It also liaised with other offices and agencies of the United Nations in Cambodia – including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross and several medical NGOs, to continue promoting improved prisoner access to health services. 15. The level of overcrowding remains a concern, with a total prison population of over 15,200 prisoners as of May 2011, against an estimated prison capacity of around 8,500. GDP officials associated the increased number of prisoner deaths in 2010 (83, compared to 60 in 2009) to the level of overcrowding, as it contributes to the spread of transmittable diseases, puts enormous strains on the sanitation and health facilities, and increases stress among the prisoners. 16. Although prison authorities have no control over the number of people sent to their custody, they have the power to manage conditions inside the prisons to try and alleviate the impact of overcrowding. Enabling the prisoners to leave their congested cells during day time, and granting regular and sufficient access to fresh air to all prisoners without discrimination, are two key strategies available to the prison authorities, which still need fuller implementation. OHCHR worked with GDP to facilitate increased outdoor access and enable prisoners to stay outside of their cells while addressing concerns pertaining to security and good order. OHCHR also supported GDP in developing rehabilitation activities that provide prisoners with opportunities to spend useful time outside of their cell; this included supporting training for the reinforcement of prison farming in three correctional centres in 2010-2011, and contributing to the development of a project to facilitate education and literacy programmes in prisons, through the provision of libraries in 2011. 17. OHCHR maintained a strong focus on assisting the Government in implementing its human rights obligations pertaining to access to safe drinking water and sanitation in prison. Water supply support ranged from installing rainwater harvesting systems or drilling additional wells, to improving existing water connections, increasing water storage capacities, and providing drinking water filters. Sanitation support included building additional latrines to meet the needs of an increased prison population, improving septic tanks and constructing garbage tanks. The programme also pioneered the development of biogas in the Cambodian prison system with the first biogas digester established in Siem Reap prison in 2011. The programme looked at wider issues in sanitation: windows were opened in detention buildings in two prisons to improve light and ventilation in the cells, and hygiene and cleanliness items were distributed during visits. Prison staff needs were also taken into consideration where possible, for instance through the refurbishment of shelters or the building of latrines for staff on duty. 18. As the Government pursued its programme of construction in response to prison overcrowding, OHCHR continued its advocacy for the official adoption by the Ministry of Interior of the Minimum Design Standards for Prison Construction; several improvements supported by OHCHR could have been avoided in the first place in recently built prisons, if minimum standards had been adhered to during design and construction. This would have 6