A/65/44 Independence of the judiciary (7) The Committee is concerned that judges are appointed by the President of Slovakia on the basis of a proposal by the Judiciary Council, as some of the members of the Judiciary Council are appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic and the Government (art. 2). The State party should guarantee the full independence of the Judiciary Council in order to ensure the independence of the judiciary. In this respect, the Committee recalls the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted in Milan in 1985 and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolutions 40/32 and 40/146. Non-refoulement and risk of torture (8) The Committee is concerned that, according to section 13 of the asylum law, persons considered to be a threat to national security or a danger to the community are not protected by the principle of non-refoulement, which may expose them to a risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is also concerned at the very low rate of successful asylum applications (art. 3). The State party should adopt urgently the measures, especially legal ones, necessary to ensure protection of the rights of all asylum-seekers and persons seeking refugee status. Furthermore, the State party should apply the non-refoulement principle without any discrimination or exception. Complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions (9) While noting that the Inspection Service Office is managed by the Minister of the Interior and allegedly independent of the police, the Committee is concerned that alleged unlawful acts committed by the police, including torture and ill-treatment, are investigated by police officers of the Inspection Service Office. In this respect, the Committee is concerned that very few complaints against police officers are accepted and investigated and lead to prosecution and convictions (arts. 12 and 13). The State party should further strengthen the independence of the Inspection Service Office by, inter alia, including independent experts drawn from outside the police so as to ensure that allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are promptly, impartially, thoroughly and effectively investigated. Independent monitoring (10) The Committee regrets the lack of information on whether there is an independent body in the State party that has the right to, inter alia, undertake unannounced visits to all places of deprivation of liberty, including police stations and pretrial detention facilities (arts. 2, 11 and 16) The State party should ensure that fully independent monitoring, including unannounced visits, of all places of deprivation of liberty takes place on a regular basis. It should also ensure that any mechanism established for this purpose, at the local or national level, has an appropriate mandate and adequate resources. Training (11) The Committee notes the State party’s efforts with respect to training of law enforcement officers. However, it is concerned at the effectiveness of this training in the light of the high number of alleged cases of harassment and ill-treatment during both arrest and police custody, particularly of Roma suspects. It is also concerned that training programmes for medical personnel for the identification and documentation of cases of torture in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol may be inadequate (arts. 10 and 11). 48 GE.10-44721