A/HRC/28/8 16. Responding to questions about the abolition of the death penalty asked by France, Germany and Namibia, Fiji noted that it had abolished the death penalty in 2001. However, it remained in the Military Code indirectly, by virtue of the applicability of the Army Act 1955 of the United Kingdom. Fiji announced that in the forthcoming session of Parliament, the Military Code would be amended to remove the reference to the death penalty altogether. 17. Responding to questions and recommendations from Germany, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea on human rights abuses, in particular alleged torture and ill-treatment by the police, Fiji explained that, in cases in which complaints were made to the police, and in which the Director of Public Prosecutions determined that there was sufficient evidence for prosecution, the perpetrators had been prosecuted. Indeed, some were currently serving terms of imprisonment for such acts. 18. The new legal framework of Fiji under the Constitution allowed steps to be taken to ensure that police procedures were modernized and made more transparent. It was acknowledged that torture during interrogation had been a long-standing problem in Fiji, owing to cultural misconceptions inherited from attitudes prevalent in Europe within living memory. Therefore, in order to avoid lengthy court proceedings to determine whether confessions and statements had been obtained under torture, the judiciary had itself provided budgetary resources to launch a project under which all interviews of suspects in custody would be video recorded, and would provide additional funds and training for the investigators. That had been done in recognition of the fact that institutions must combine their resources in order to eliminate impropriety and violent treatment, and to ensure a more efficient justice system. 19. The police had also acknowledged deficiencies in police investigations and aspects of police culture that in the past had excused or ignored police brutality, and that training was needed in the areas of domestic violence and interrogations. Specialized organizations had been invited to cooperate with relevant Fijian agencies in the provision of such training so as to improve the human rights standing of the criminal justice system in Fiji. In further response to concerns raised about assaults and brutality in police custody, the delegation explained that, in cases in which evidence had been obtained by means of assault by the police, the prosecution would not continue and the matter would be referred to the Commissioner of Police for investigation and possible criminal charges against the officers. Such cases had most recently resulted in the prosecution and conviction of three police officers who had been convicted of murder by joint enterprise, and two who had been convicted of being accessories after the fact when a young man had died in police custody. 20. The Fijian criminal justice system was explained, with particular emphasis on the processes followed between the lodging of a criminal complaint and the decision on whether or not to proceed with the prosecution. It was emphasized that the police were also independent of the Government and the Director of Public Prosecutions with regard to how police investigations were conducted, and that the police could only act if a formal written complaint was made by a person, including if the complaint was one of unfair treatment by the police. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 21. During the interactive dialogue, 54 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue can be found in section II of the present report. 22. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) commended efforts on social development, poverty reduction, the health service, decent housing and the risk of natural disasters. The 5