A/HRC/34/41 V. Protection from arbitrary detention and respect for fair trial rights 38. The treatment of conflict-related detainees remained of major concern during the reporting period. Based on interviews with several hundred conflict-related detainees, including juveniles held by the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army in 26 provinces, UNAMA found that the detainees had experienced torture or ill-treatment at levels exceeding those documented in its 2015 public report.6 In most cases, the authorities used torture and ill-treatment to extract a confession. While the majority of documented cases related to incidents allegedly carried out in National Directorate of Security facilities, UNAMA also noted a significant increase in the use of torture and ill-treatment by the Afghan National Police. Since December 2015, the Government has made little tangible progress in meeting its commitments under the 2015 national plan on the elimination of torture. Notably, accountability persists for alleged perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment. 39. At the time of writing, the Ministry of Justice was finalizing the draft of a new antitorture law, providing an opportunity to align the definition of torture with the international human rights obligations of Afghanistan. Despite the public commitments that the President has made since June 2015, the Government has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 40. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights notes with concern the increasing restrictions placed by the Government on access by UNAMA human rights staff members to detention facilities, to monitor the treatment of conflict-related detainees. In September and October 2016, the Central Prisons Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior suspended the authorization for UNAMA to access its facilities to interview detainees. In addition, since mid-August 2016, UNAMA has been formally denied access to interview prisoners on death row. 41. In mid-2016, the National Assembly rejected article 10 of Presidential Decree 76, which had provided for the preventive detention, in a “special facility”, of individuals suspected of posing an actual or potential threat to national security. Other problematic articles of the decree remain in force, however, including those which extend to 60 days the time limit before which those arrested for crimes against national security must be brought before a judge. VI. Question of the death penalty 42. On 8 May 2016, six convicted prisoners previously sentenced to death for crimes under national security laws were executed. UNAMA/OHCHR continued to advocate for respect of the fair trial guarantees provided for in the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly given ongoing concerns over the torture and ill-treatment of detainees. OHCHR also urged the President of Afghanistan to refrain from approving death sentences, to introduce an immediate official moratorium on the use of the death penalty and to expedite legal reform, including of the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, to allow death sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment. 6 See http://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_detention_report_2015_revised.pdf. 9