A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 perpetrators, to provide compensation for the victim and ensure the future non-repetition of such acts. Maldives (a) JAL 26/02/2013 Case No. MDV 1/2013 State reply: None to date Allegations concerning legal provisions that allow sentencing of sexually abused minors on charges of fornication. 95. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Republic of the Maldives has not responded to this communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council. The communication referred to alleged legal provisions in the Maldives that allow sexually abused minors to be charged with provisions and punished under penalties such as flogging. This discourages reporting of rape and child sex abuse and perpetuates the negative social stigma of revealing past experiences of sexual abuse. In this context, the Special Rapporteur reminds the Government of the Republic of the Maldives of paragraph 7 (a) of resolution 8/8 of the Human Rights Council which reminded Governments that corporal punishment, including of children, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even to torture. The Special Rapporteur would also like to reiterate that any form of corporal punishment is contrary to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as stipulated in the annual report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to the 60th session of the General Assembly. The Special Rapporteur also notes that States cannot invoke provisions of domestic law to justify violations of their human rights obligations under international law, including the prohibition of corporal punishment and calls upon States to abolish all forms of judicial and administrative corporal punishment without delay (para.28 A/60/316). Both the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have called for the abolition of judicial corporal punishment. In paragraph 5 of General Comment No. 20 (1992), the Human Rights Committee stated that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment must extend to corporal punishment, including excessive chastisement ordered as punishment for a crime or as an educative or disciplinary measure. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to undertake a prompt and independent investigation into the alleged use of laws that incriminate victims of sexual abuse, effectively silencing reports of rape and other sexual perpetrations, which does not allow for adequate judicial redress for victims of sexual abuse. Malta (a) JAL 12/08/2013 Case No. MLT 1/2013 State reply: 14/10/2013 Alleged denial of entry to migrants stranded off the coast of Malta. 96. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Malta for its reply, dated 14 October 2013, to this communication in reference to the alleged denial of entry to migrants stranded in a boat off the coast of Malta. According to allegations, the Maltese military refused to allow a tanker to disembark on Maltese territory after it had rescued 102 migrants at sea, including four pregnant women, one injured woman and a five month-old baby. The Maltese military provided medical assistance, water and food to the stranded migrants, but such assistance was not adequate, according to the allegations. The Maltese Government alleges that the tanker was originally ordered by Italian maritime authorities to disembark at Libya, the nearest port of call, and was duly notified by Maltese authorities that it would be denied entrance to Malta’s territorial waters. Malta also alleges that it provided adequate medical aid, water and other provisions, but that it was not at any time legally responsible for the rescued persons. The Special Rapporteur expresses concern at 70