A/HRC/19/3 33. Tajikistan stated that it is not a country of transit for human trafficking. An interdepartmental commission has been set up to organize the return of trafficked persons, as well as a specific unit on trafficking within the Ministry of Interior. No case of involvement of Government officials in human trafficking has been recorded. 34. As to the question regarding access by detainees to an independent doctor, this is guaranteed by the 2010 Law on procedures and conditions of detention. 35. Regarding the question of identity of transgender persons, the delegation noted that identity documents are issued on the basis of the Law on civil registration, and that a certificate of change of gender issued by a medical organization was required. 36. Regarding measures to implement the 2011-2015 national strategy on the migration of Tajiks for labour abroad, Tajikistan referred to measures to address health-related issues and the legal protection of Tajik nationals working abroad. A number of consular representations are already operating in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, which provide consular assistance and protection; there are plans to open additional ones and increase the resources allocated thereto. 37. Regarding implementation of treaty bodies’ recommendations, Tajikistan referred to the significant changes to its legislation, inter alia, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedural Code and others, as well as reforms to the judiciary and law enforcement. 38. The power to limit civil rights was transferred from the procurator to the judge, and the execution of sentences from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Justice. The inadmissibility of evidence obtained under torture has been introduced, and in the draft amendments to the Criminal Procedural Code, a separate article has been foreseen, which introduces a definition of torture in line with the Convention against Torture. The Criminal Code provides for the reduction in the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty to five. 39. The delegation expressed disagreement with the assessment that between 33 and 50 per cent of women in Tajikistan experienced physical, physiological or sexual violence, stating that the facts at the disposal of the Government contradicted those numbers; only 2 per cent of individuals who applied to the 37 advisory centres for help claimed to be victims of domestic violence. 40. Regarding the death penalty, the President established an inter-ministerial working group on this issue in 2010. Among other undertakings, with the participation of NGOs and international partners, an international conference was held in May 2011 with the support and cooperation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The delegation expressed its belief that the steps undertaken in this regard would assist in deciding whether to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). 41. Regarding concerns expressed about the prosecution of journalists, the delegation mentioned that there had been two such cases in the last 18 months, and that in one case, the prosecution was not related to the journalistic work of the individual, but rather to his extremist activities. 42. The delegation asserted that mass media in Tajikistan are free and that citizens could freely express their views and convictions through them. The number of registered media outlets exceeds those that are State-owned. In 2011, Parliament elaborated a draft law on mass media with a view to expanding the scope of their activities and freedoms and to ensure also that they provide objective information. 7