carrying money on the prison premises. The report also recommends improving systems of access to health care, minimum infrastructure standards, access to medicines and the provision of food. 231.With regard to the infrastructures at Tacumbú National Prison, the special commission noted the serious situation of overcrowding in the prison, and the shortcomings in sanitation services, electrical installations and fire emergency systems. The special commission recommended a series of measures for improving infrastructure conditions and fire prevention arrangements. 232.With regard to the human rights of detainees at Tacumbú National Prison, the special commission issued recommendations in the areas of health, food, minimum conditions of detention, torture and ill-treatment, and discrimination, with particular reference to: (a)Compulsory visits by prison doctors to prison wings, and an increase in their working hours to 32 hours a month; (b)The contracting out of food services and the acquisition of cutlery, tables and chairs; (c)The purchase of 500 mattresses, as a matter of urgency, for the “cuadrilátero” and “mixta” wings of D block; and (d)The establishment of internal systems for registering complaints of torture and ill-treatment. 233.With regard to Pedro Juan Caballero Regional Prison, the special commission issued broadly the same recommendations as for Tacumbú National Prison. With regard to the women and minors detained at Pedro Juan Caballero, the special commission recommended the introduction of educational and recreational activities and separation of the different population groups, adapting their living conditions so that women and teenagers could go outside for as long as they liked, pending their transfer to the new prison. 234.Lastly, in the context of a follow-up meeting to the SPT visit, which took place on 16 June 2009 between the Ministry of Justice and Labour and the head of the SPT delegation, the State informed the SPT that the opening of the new Pedro Juan Caballero Prison and the consequent closure of the existing prison would take place within a period of 60 days. At the same meeting, the definitive closure of the so-called “Alcatraz” solitary confinement wing at Tacumbú National Prison was confirmed, and various possibilities for follow-up activities to the SPT recommendations were discussed. The State party reiterated its willingness to cooperate and work together with the SPT. 235. The SPT takes note with great satisfaction of the information provided by the State party regarding the forthcoming opening of the new Pedro Juan Caballero Prison and the corresponding closure of the existing prison. 236. The SPT likewise welcomes the establishment by the Ministry of Justice and Labour of the special monitoring commission responsible for verifying in situ the SPT ’ s preliminary observations concerning matters within the Ministry ’ s competence and for making recommendations for compliance with them. The SPT urges the State party to extend the functions of the special commission to encompass the recommendations contained in the present report. 237.In its note of 14 August 2009, the Permanent Mission of Paraguay to the United Nations Office in Geneva informed the SPT that the Ministry of Justice and Labour by its decision of 9 July 2009 had increased the working hours of prison medical staff to a maximum of 40 hours a week and had made it mandatory to establish monthly reports on the health care provided. The State party also provided information on the training in first aid and basic psychology given to a number of inmates at Tacumbú National Prison. Lastly, the SPT was informed of the plan to register all inmates in a programme of activities with effect from 17 August 2009. V.Summary of recommendations and requests for information A.Recommendations Legal framework 238.In view of the current definition of the offence of torture contained in the Paraguayan Criminal Code, the SPT recommends the early adoption of the legislative measures necessary to align Paraguayan legislation with international treaties on torture, especially article 1 of the Convention against Torture. 239. The SPT recommends that, in order to remedy the lack of a definition of the offence of torture, a criminal offence should be included in the Paraguayan Criminal Code, in conformity with article 1 of the Convention against Torture, and penalties established that are commensurate with the seriousness of the offence. Institutional framework 240. The SPT recommends that the State party should grant inter-institutional commissions the necessary financial and logistic support to carry out their regular visits to places housing persons deprived of their liberty. The SPT further recommends that the functions, experience and knowledge acquired by these commissions should be taken into account by the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), once it has been established. 241. With regard to the Office of the Ombudsman, the SPT recommends that this institution: (a) Carry out periodic visits and develop techniques for thorough inspections — with the emphasis on personal contact with detainees and direct viewing of places of detention — so as to ascertain the living conditions and treatment of those deprived of their liberty; (b) Deal promptly and effectively with the complaints it receives concerning human rights violations;