A/HRC/19/10 degrading treatment or punishment in 2007 and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in 2008. Latvia made recommendations. 56. The delegation of Togo said that the country had taken steps to modernize its justice system, notably by training justice officials and drafting modern legislation to afford those officials the best possible working conditions and to improve their performance. 57. A department had been set up to ensure access to legal assistance in order to make it easier to file a complaint. There were plans to submit a proposal on legal aid to the Council of Ministers in the near future. Togo had also taken steps to strengthen the independence of the justice system, including by providing magistrates with training in professional ethics. A bill intended to guarantee them better financial conditions was currently being finalized. 58. Togo had ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and its Criminal Code was currently being revised with a view to making torture a criminal offence. The delegation refuted the claim that torture was practised systematically in Togo, citing the small number of complaints of alleged torture. Nevertheless, the allegations brought before the Supreme Court had prompted the Government to refer the matter to the National Human Rights Commission for an inquiry to be conducted. The Commission had heard all the individuals concerned. Togo would take all measures necessary to ensure compliance with the Commission’s recommendations and urged everyone who witnessed a case of torture to report it. 59. Togo had taken steps to shorten the duration of pretrial detention. Decisions were handed down as soon as the accused confessed to the acts in question, so as to relieve congestion in prisons. A programme aimed at improving conditions in prisons and a prison renovation project were currently being implemented. Women, men and minors were held separately. There were plans to open a remand prison in the near future. 60. The conditions governing police custody were well respected on the whole. In November 2010, Togo had called on all justice officials to undertake publicly to improve the quality of justice. Togo was prepared to act on reports of any act that had not been brought to the attention of the authorities, so that the situation could be remedied. 61. With regard to the ratification of new instruments, Togo was making an effort to incorporate their provisions into domestic law even before it ratified them, which explained why the ratification process was slow. That had been the case in 2009 when the death penalty — now a distant memory — had been abolished. 62. It was the exercise of freedom of expression that had given rise to the democratic process in Togo. Therefore, that freedom was respected. Furthermore, the State supported the private media and would continue to do so in order to protect that freedom. A law to protect the right to demonstrate had been adopted. 63. The National Intelligence Agency did not serve as a detention centre. Individuals were only detained there under exceptional circumstances. Every effort was being made to shed light on allegations that the Agency used torture. 64. Togo was not prepared to legislate on the question of homosexuality, given that homosexuals were not subject to any form of discrimination. Such legislation might in fact be counterproductive, given the attitude of the population. 65. Much had been done to improve access to the army, which was now free. 66. With regard to the fight against impunity, it was important to strengthen the national courts. 67. Togo had carried out a study on female genital mutilation. A law adopted in 1998 penalized the perpetrators of such mutilations. Awareness-raising activities were being GE.11-17383 9