CAT/C/BLR/CO/4 2011 and urgent appeals made by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The Committee regrets that, despite the views of by the Human Rights Committee (communication No. 1296/2004) and several appeals by the Special Rapporteurs (A/HRC/17/27/Add.1, para. 331), the Supreme Court maintained the previous decision by the Ministry of Justice not to register Human Rights Centre Viasna (arts. 2, 12 and 16). The State party should take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and journalists from intimidation or violence as a result of their activities and the prompt, impartial and thorough investigation, prosecution and punishment of such acts. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Acknowledge the crucial role of non-governmental organizations in assisting the State party in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention, and enable them to seek and receive adequate funding to carry out their peaceful human rights activities; (b) Inform the Committee of the outcome of investigations of alleged threats against and harassment by the authorities of human rights defenders and journalists, including cases of two journalists, Irina Khalip and Andrzej Poczobut; the Chair of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Aleh Gulak; and the President of Viasna, Ales Byalyatski; and (c) Update the status of implementation of the aforementioned decision of the Human Rights Committee that the complainants, 11 members of Viasna, are entitled to an appropriate remedy, including the re-registration of Viasna. Refugees and asylum-seekers 26. While welcoming the adoption, in 2008, of the new Law on Provision of Refugee Status, Complementary and Temporary Protection to Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in Belarus, the Committee notes that the legislation and practice of its implementation need to be further revised in order to be fully in line with international human rights and refugee law (art. 3). The Committee recommends the State party to revise its current procedures and practices in the area of expulsion, refoulement and extradition in order to fulfil its obligations under article 3 of the Convention. The State party should guarantee better protection for asylum-seekers, refugees and other persons in need of international protection, improve the quality of the State’s Refugee Status Determination procedure, and consider ratifying the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Death penalty 27. The Committee is concerned by reports of the poor conditions of persons sentenced to death, and regarding the secrecy and arbitrariness surrounding the execution of persons sentenced to death, including reports that the families of persons sentenced to the death penalty are only informed days or weeks after the execution has taken place, that they are not given the opportunity for a last visit to the prisoner, that the body of the executed prisoner is not handed over to the family and the place of burial is not disclosed to them. Furthermore, the Committee is deeply concerned at reports that some death row prisoners are not provided with fundamental legal safeguards and the discrepancy between reports of the authorities and other, various sources on this matter. Although the Committee notes that a parliamentary working group continues to consider the possibility of establishing a moratorium of the death penalty, it regrets the execution of two death row inmates whose 10