A/HRC/11/37 1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions as well as on its voluntary commitments and the outcome 657. The delegation of Jordan stated that, with regard to the recommendations appearing under paragraph 93 of the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Jordan accepted recommendations 1 to 4, 6 to 11, 13 and 15. Information on recommendation 5 would be provided at a later stage. Regarding recommendation 12, Jordan accepted it in part and had been implementing it in accordance with its national and international obligations. With regard to recommendation 14, Jordan had established a national committee that would be preparing a draft law in line with international standards. The delegation underlined the fact that Jordan had not only accepted the above recommendations, but had also started and/or enhanced their implementation. Jordan remained committed to updating the Council thereon. 658. With regard to recommendation 1, the Government was preparing a study in cooperation with relevant authorities aiming at the accession to the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 659. Regarding recommendations 2 to 8, article 340 of the penal code had been amended in order to cancel the pretext for honour crimes. The Government, in cooperation with relevant authorities, had prepared a new draft law compatible with international conventions, amending article 97 of the penal code to strengthen the minimum sanction, and for that purpose, to remove the alleviating circumstances clause for honour crimes. 660. To further the status of women, the Government had enacted many laws and legislation, particularly the Family Protection Code. Among other initiatives, Jordan mentioned (a) a project by the Prime Minister’s Office on alimony fund to assist divorced women and widows; (b) a Family Affairs Division, set up on 29 April 2009, to draw up policies giving further protection to vulnerable groups; and (c) a special unit for human rights in the Ministry of Social Development, which would provide women with training on the promotion of a gender perspective and to further the role of women as equal partners in the development process. Correctional and rehabilitation centres were actively cooperating with non-governmental organizations and civil society to solve the situation of women detained without charge. 661. With regard to recommendations 9 and 10, the Government had amended the penal code in order to make the definition of torture compatible with the Committee against Torture. The amendment stipulated that any employee or official who tried to extract a confession would be sanctioned. 662. The national centre for human rights issued periodic reports, including recommendations to improve the situation of detainees. The Council of Ministers had adopted the Karama project to combat torture and to provide training in cooperation with a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations and civil society. Many lawyers had been trained on how to implement the international convention, and a guidebook on how to register and monitor acts of torture had been issued. Furthermore, a code of conduct was being developed to monitor such violations. Other initiatives included: (a) a committee on reform and rehabilitation, headed by the Director of Public Security and with the membership of many ministries, entrusted with rehabilitation programmes; (b) a committee on public freedoms, established by Parliament, which could visit all prisons of the country to make sure that all detainees enjoyed proper treatment; and (c) an office to receive the complaints of families of detainees, dealing with, inter alia, relocation to other centres and special visit needs. Additional permits to visit the rehabilitation centres were now available to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations. A total of 813 visits had been made in 2008. 158 GE.09-16766