of the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. 79.It also welcomes with satisfaction the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in December 2000. C. Subjects of concern 80.The Committee expresses its concern at the following: (a)The failure, despite the extensive legal reforms undertaken by the State party, to classify torture as a specific offence in Venezuelan legislation in accordance with the definition in article 1 of the Convention; (b)The numerous complaints of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, abuse of authority and arbitrary acts committed by agents of State security bodies which render the protective provisions of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure inoperative; (c)Complaints of abuse of power and improper use of force as a means of control, particularly during demonstrations and protests; (d)Complaints of threats and attacks against sexual minorities and transgender activists, particularly in the State of Carabobo; (e)Information on threats to and harassment of persons who bring complaints of ill treatment against police officers and the lack of adequate protection for witnesses and victims; (f)The absence of prompt and impartial investigations of complaints of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and the lack of an accessible, institutionalized procedure in order to ensure the right of victims of acts of torture to obtain redress and fair and adequate compensation, as article 14 of the Convention provides; (g)The numerous instances in prisons of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and violence against prisoners by prison officers, which have led to serious injuries and in some cases to death. The precarious material conditions in prisons are also a matter for concern; (h)The lack of information, including statistical data, on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, broken down by nationality, gender, ethnic group, geographical location and type and place of detention. D. Recommendations 81. The Committee recommends that the State party should: (a) Adopt legislation making torture a punishable offence. Pursuant to the fourth transitional provision of the new Constitution, this requires a special act or the reform of the Penal Code within a year of the establishment of the National Assembly; this period has long expired; (b) Adopt all necessary measures to ensure immediate and impartial investigation of all cases of complaints of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The officials concerned should be suspended from their duties during these investigations; (c) Adopt measures to regulate and institutionalize the right of victims of torture to fair and adequate compensation and draw up programmes for their physical and psychological rehabilitation to the fullest extent possible, as the Committee has already recommended in its previous conclusions and recommendations; (d) Continue its activities of education in and promotion of human rights, particularly the prohibition of acts of torture, for law enforcement and medical personnel; (e) Adopt measures to improve material conditions of detention in prisons and prevent both prisoner-on-prisoner violence and violence against prisoners by prison personnel. It is also recommended that the State party strengthen independent prison inspection procedures. 82. The Committee requests that the State party include statistical data in its next periodic report, broken down, inter alia, by nationality, age and gender of the victims, and an indication of the services to which the persons accused belong, with regard to cases under the Convention coming before domestic bodies; it should also include the results of the investigations carried out and the consequences for the victims in terms of redress and compensation. 83. The Committee invites the State party to submit its fourth periodic report at the latest by 20 August 2004 and to disseminate widely the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations. AZERBAIJAN 84.The Committee considered the second periodic report of Azerbaijan (CAT/C/59/Add.1) at its 550th and 553rd meetings, held on 30 April and 1 May 2003 (CAT/C/SR.550 and 553), and adopted the following conclusions and recommendations. A. Introduction 85.The Committee welcomes the second periodic report of Azerbaijan, as well as the oral information provided by the high-level delegation. The Committee particularly welcomes the State party’s assurances that the concerns and recommendations adopted by the Committee will be pursued seriously.