B. Positive aspects (3) The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts undertaken by the State party to combat torture and to guarantee the rights of persons not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in particular: (a) The incorporation of the definition of torture into the domestic legislation of the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; (b) The entry into force of an amendment of the Dutch Civil Code in April 2007 which prohibits physical and mental violence “for educational purposes”, including in the family environment; (c) The adoption of new legislation on trafficking in human beings in the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in January 2005 and in Aruba in May 2006; (d) The National Ordinance AB 1999 No. 8 implementing the Convention against Torture in Aruba and the new National Penal System Ordinance AB 2005 No. 75 of December 2005; (e) The establishment of the Internal Investigations Bureau to receive and investigate complaints and reports of ill-treatment by police officers in Aruba; (f) The improvement of prison conditions in the Netherlands Antilles, as reported by the State party; (g) The notable work undertaken by the special team set up in 1998 to investigate and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity (“the NOVO team”) to bring to justice perpetrators of acts of torture and war crimes; (h) The State party’s cautious approach with regard to the use of diplomatic assurances and its policy of not practising extraordinary rendition of suspects; (i) The State party’s contributions to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. (4) The Committee notes with appreciation the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2002 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the entry into force of its implementing act in the Netherlands in 2003. (5) The Committee also welcomes the assurances given by the State party’s representatives that the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment will be ratified in the second half of 2007. C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Fundamental safeguards (6) Notwithstanding the State party’s establishment in 2006 of a “programme to enhance and strengthen the quality of the performance of police officers and prosecutors” (CAT/C/NET/Q/4/Rev.1/Add.1, para. 50) in the European part of the Kingdom, the Committee is concerned that persons in police detention do not have access to legal assistance during the initial period of interrogation. Similarly, the Committee is concerned that in the Netherlands Antilles, the presence of a lawyer during interrogation is only permitted with the prior authorization of a magistrate. The State party should review its criminal procedures so that access to a lawyer, as a fundamental legal safeguard, is guaranteed to persons in police custody from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty, particularly where video or audio recording of interrogations, which cannot in any way substitute the presence of legal counsel, are not in place. 71