CAT/C/TJK/CO/3 not meet international standards. Of particular concern for the Committee are the conditions in the women’s prison, where reports of staff shortages and of insufficient food and heat have been registered by the Monitoring Group (arts. 11 and 16). 34. The State party should: (a) Intensify its efforts to bring the conditions of detention in places of deprivation of liberty into line with international standards, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), by, inter alia, ensuring that detainees are provided with adequate material and hygienic conditions, including sufficient natural and artificial light; adequate sewage systems and sanitary installations, including toilets and showers; heated cells; sufficient ventilation; an adequate quality and quantity of food, bedding, blankets and items for personal hygiene; health care; outdoor activities; and family visits; (b) Improve the material conditions and number of qualified staff in the women’s prison, in accordance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); (c) Control the incidence of tuberculosis, and separate healthy prisoners from those suffering from contagious cases of tuberculosis in all detention facilities, provide specialized medical care to prisoners suffering from infectious diseases, and put in place appropriate measures to effectively prevent and control the further spread of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in pretrial detention facilities and penitentiary facilities, in particular by screening on admission. Independent complaints mechanism 35. The Committee notes with regret reports that it has received that non-governmental organizations documented nearly three times the number of complaints of torture and illtreatment in 2013–2017 as were received by the appropriate government officials (arts. 2, 12 and 13). 36. The State party should ensure that all persons, including those in detention, have access to a complaints mechanism through which they can transmit confidential allegations of torture or ill-treatment to the Ombudsman or another independent investigative authority that cannot be accessed by administrators of the place of deprivation of liberty in which they are held. Prisoners serving life sentences 37. The Committee is concerned about the restrictive conditions of detention for persons sentenced to life imprisonment, which are imposed through a special prison regime, and about their material conditions which are especially harsh compared with those of the general prison population. It is also concerned at the fact that this category of prisoners is housed in pretrial facilities, which offer very limited opportunities for contact with the outside world (arts. 2, 11 and 16). 38. The State party should: (a) Ensure, with a view to preventing the deterioration of their mental faculties and social abilities, that prisoners serving life sentences have access to a regime of organized and purposeful out-of-cell activities; (b) Take measures to integrate prisoners serving a life sentence into the general prison population; (c) Consider amending the Penal Enforcement Code to review the special regime for persons serving a sentence of life imprisonment. 9