(7) The Committee welcomes the announcement by the delegation of the State party concerning the recent ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. C. Subjects of concern and recommendations (8) While it welcomes with satisfaction the planned revision of the Criminal Code, which should contain a definition of torture, as announced by the delegation of the State party, the Committee is concerned at the lack of provisions in the Criminal Code in force containing an explicit definition of torture and criminalizing torture, in accordance with articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of clarity with regard to the status of the Convention in Burundi’s domestic law, and the fact that the Convention is not invoked before the competent judicial and administrative authorities (arts. 1 and 4). The State party should take urgent measures to include in its Criminal Code a definition of torture that is in conformity with article 1 of the Convention, as well as provisions criminalizing acts of torture and imposing criminal penalties proportionate to the gravity of the acts committed. The State party should also clarify the status of the Convention in its domestic law in order to enable all persons who claim to have been subjected to torture to invoke the Convention before the competent judicial and administrative authorities. (9) While it welcomes the planned reform of Burundi’s judicial system, which was announced by the delegation of the State party, the Committee notes with concern that the current provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to police custody do not explicitly refer to the notification of rights, including the presence of a lawyer from the first hours in police custody and the medical examination of persons held in police custody. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of provisions on legal aid for disadvantaged persons. Moreover, the Committee is concerned at the length of police custody, which can last as long as 14 days, a period that is not in keeping with the generally accepted international norms on the subject. Finally, the Committee is deeply concerned at reports that there have been several hundred cases of illegal detention owing to the fact that persons were held in police custody longer than the period authorized by law (arts. 2 and 11). The State party should amend the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to police custody in order to ensure the effective prevention of violations of the physical and mental integrity of persons held in police custody, including by guaranteeing their right to habeas corpus, the right to inform a close relation and the right to consult a lawyer and physician of their choice or an independent physician during the first hours in police custody, as well as access to legal aid for the most disadvantaged persons. The State party should, in addition, bring the practice of pretrial detention into conformity with the international standards relating to a fair trial and should ensure that the trial takes place within a reasonable time. (10) The Committee is alarmed at reports that torture is a widespread practice in the State party. According to these reports, which were not challenged by the delegation of the State party, several hundred cases of torture were registered between July 2005 and July 2006. Moreover, the Committee is deeply concerned at reports received concerning a high number of forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions, the main perpetrators of which are allegedly officials of the National Intelligence Service. In this regard, the Committee is concerned at the dual mandate of the National Intelligence Service, which is responsible for State security and is also active in criminal investigation, since this entails the risk that the Service might be used as a means of political repression (art. 2). The State party should take effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures to prevent all acts of torture and all ill-treatment in any territory under its jurisdiction, including by ensuring that military personnel are not in any way involved in the arrest and detention of civilians. The State party should take steps, as a matter of urgency, to bring all places of detention under judicial control and to prevent its officials from making arbitrary arrests and engaging in torture. It should also include in its domestic legislation a provision clearly stipulating that an order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture. 9