A/HRC/42/39/Add.1 (c) In line with its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ensure that dedicated and appropriate detention facilities are available to accommodate female detainees; (d) Develop standard operating procedures or other policies requiring the Royal Bhutan Police to ensure that all persons in its custody are informed of their right to legal representation and are able to exercise that right effectively in practice; (e) Further review the remaining cases of persons detained under national security legislation to reassess whether there were any procedural irregularities during the proceedings that occurred in the absence of legal counsel. The Working Group stands ready to provide technical assistance to that end; (f) Ensure that legal representation is prioritized for persons facing criminal charges that may result in life imprisonment and for juveniles charged with serious criminal offences; (g) As a matter of urgency, explore options to improve the provision of legal representation, including: (i) Raising awareness of the legal aid fund established to provide free legal representation in criminal matters, and developing guidelines on how the legal aid fund will be accessed and used; (ii) Encouraging pro bono services by private lawyers; (iii) Seeking free legal advice from the growing number of law students being trained at Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, as part of their education; (iv) Continuing to use the Jabmi system for the provision of basic legal services to assist in ensuring that more criminal defendants have access to legal advice; (v) Making greater use of alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes (such as mediation or resolution of minor criminal matters at the gewog level) to reduce pressure on the legal aid fund and on the legal system overall; (vi) Determining a specific central agency that provides publicly funded defence counsel to those most in need of legal assistance; (h) Streamline the practice of detention registers to ensure that the various registers do not duplicate the information they contain and are duly completed; (i) In cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Bhutan National Legal Institute and in consultation with relevant law enforcement agencies, determine areas in which greater legal literacy is required and develop and disseminate information on those topics to the community, particularly among disadvantaged members of the community; (j) Immediately cease the practice of detaining persons because they owe a debt and implement alternative measures of debt recovery, such as the deduction of debt payments from salaries and flexible repayment schedules; (k) Immediately cease the practice of detaining guarantors, and make greater use of alternatives to such detention such as requiring the guarantor to forfeit a bond if the detainee does not meet the terms of a decree or order; (l) Ensure that the remission of sentences applies to all detainees who demonstrate good conduct, and that it takes into account all of the time that a person has spent in detention, including time spent at a police station; (m) Ensure that all forms of punishment are accompanied by safeguards against arbitrary application and that all punishment is respectful of human dignity, including by ensuring ongoing implementation of the notice issued by Royal Bhutan Police Headquarters to put an end to all forms of informal punishments. 93. The Working Group recommends that the Government take the following measures in relation to deprivation of liberty in the context of drug control: 18

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