A/HRC/43/49/Add.1
(c)
Take the measures necessary to ensure that torture is established as an
offence in national law and adopt a definition of torture that includes all the elements
contained in article 1 of the Convention against Torture, including the infliction of
torture by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public
official or other person acting in an official capacity. The Government should also
ensure that such offences are made punishable by appropriate penalties that take into
account their grave nature, in accordance with article 4 (2) of the Convention against
Torture;
(d)
Promulgate the new Penal Code;
(e)
Ensure the section of the Penal Code concerning evidence to be admitted
in judicial proceedings is in line with the provisions of article 15 of the Convention
against Torture and explicitly excludes any evidence obtained as a result of torture;
(f)
Review all legal provisions that impede freedom of expression or
freedom of association and assembly, as they are broad and subject to abuse by law
enforcement agencies, in particular the gendarmerie and the National Police
Intervention Unit, resulting in the detention and interrogation of persons, in
particular journalists, human rights defenders and opposition leaders, all of whom are
at risk of torture or ill-treatment during interrogation;
(g)
Amend national legislation to restrict the use of force and firearms by
the police and to ensure that the powers of all law enforcement officials are stipulated
and are subject to the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials (that the use of firearms can be lawful only where it is
necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury or a grave and
proximate threat to life);
(h)
Conduct a systematic review of criminal legislation and sentencing
policies on drug offences and other lesser, non-violent offences with a view to reducing
lengthy sentences;
(i)
Adopt the bill pending adoption in the parliament on the organization of
prisons, which prioritizes prisoner rehabilitation and the training of prison officers;
(j)
Reinstate the National Commission for Preventing and Fighting
Corruption to independently and effectively combat corruption.
112.
With regard to safeguards and prevention, the Government should:
(a)
Improve data management to ensure the prompt official registration of
all persons deprived of their liberty and periodically inspect custody records at police
and prison facilities to make sure that they are maintained in accordance with the
procedures established by law;
(b)
Guarantee detainees the right to a lawyer in all circumstances and
without exception and ensure that they have access to a lawyer from the moment of
deprivation of liberty and are brought before a magistrate within 48 hours of
apprehension;
(c)
Ensure that all detained persons are guaranteed the possibility to
challenge effectively and expeditiously the lawfulness of their detention with the
assistance of a lawyer, in particular those held in prolonged pretrial detention who
may be eligible for bail;
(d)
Ensure that statements or confessions taken from persons deprived of
their liberty, other than those made in the presence of a judge and with the assistance
of legal counsel, have no probative value in proceedings against those persons, and
that confessions and testimonies that may have been obtained through torture or
other ill-treatment are not used in any proceedings;
(e)
Ensure that fundamental safeguards are granted to all persons deprived
of their liberty without exception, such as the right to be informed of their rights and
about the reasons for their arrest, the right to inform their family of their arrest and
whereabouts, the right to a lawyer, the right to see a medical doctor and the right not
to self-incriminate and not to sign documents of unknown content;
15
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