E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.4 page 7 Rights; and staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), particularly Mr. E. Berry and Mr. S. Syed. I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK International level 11. Mongolia is a party to the major United Nations human rights treaties prohibiting torture and ill-treatment: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has recognized the competence of the Human Rights Committee to consider complaints by individuals of violations of the Covenant by ratifying the Optional Protocol; however it has not done the same with the Committee against Torture, not having made the declaration under article 22 of the Covenant. Mongolia is also a party to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Mongolia is not party to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant. National level Constitutional protection of human rights 12. According to the 1992 Constitution, “Mongolia adheres to the universally recognized norms and principles of international law...” (art. 10.1), fulfilling “in good faith its obligations under international treaties to which it is Party” (art. 10.2). Chapter 2 of the Constitution, entitled “Human Rights and Freedoms”, contains a list of key basic rights in article 16, including, among other things, the right to life, the right to submit a petition or a complaint, the right to personal liberty and safety, and the right to a fair trial. The Constitution also contains provisions for certain rights of aliens and asylum- seekers. 13. The 1992 Constitution provides, “No one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment” (art. 16.13). Prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in criminal and disciplinary law 14. Article 100.1 of the Criminal Code (CC), revised in 2002, defines the offence of torture as “systematic battery or other actions having the nature of torture” which do not result in either severe or less severe bodily injuries (i.e. articles 96 and 98, respectively). The Code also criminalizes the forcing of testimony by an interrogator or investigator by threat, violence, torture, humiliation, deception or other illegal methods (art. 251.1). 15. The 2002 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) provides in article 10.4 that it shall be prohibited to torture, to treat inhumanely or in a cruel way and to insult someone’s reputation. Furthermore, CPC prohibits coercing a suspect to give testimony, or to subject him or her to inhuman or cruel treatment, or to insult his or her dignity (art. 81.2). The 1999 Law on the Execution of Decisions on Arrest and Detention of Suspects and Accused provides in article 3 that torture or other methods causing physical suffering or mental distress shall be prohibited in relation to a suspect or accused. Article 29 of the 1993 Police Law provides that a police officer