been rejected can lodge an effective appeal. The State party should also ensure that its obligations under article 3 of the Convention are fully implemented whenever a person is subjected to expulsion, refoulement and extradition. (15) The Committee is concerned at credible reports that individuals have not been afforded the full protection provided for by article 3 of the Convention in relation to expulsion, return or deportation to neighbouring countries in the name of regional security, including the fight against terrorism. The Committee is particularly concerned at allegations of forcible return of asylum-seekers from Uzbekistan and from China and the unknown conditions, treatment and whereabouts of persons returned following their arrival in the receiving country (art. 3). The State party should ensure that no person is expelled, returned or extradited to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he/she would be in danger of being subjected to torture and that persons whose applications for asylum have been rejected can lodge an effective appeal with suspensive effect. The State party should also provide the Committee with statistical data, disaggregated by country of origin, about the number of persons who requested asylum, the status of the determination on those requests, and the number of persons subjected to expulsion, refoulement and extradition. (16) The Committee is concerned at the existence of a bilateral agreement between Kazakhstan and the United States of America whereby United States nationals present in the territory of Kazakhstan cannot be transferred to the International Criminal Court to be tried for war crimes or crimes against humanity (art. 9). The State party should take appropriate measures to review the terms of this agreement which prevents the transfer of United States nationals from the territory of Kazakhstan to the International Criminal Court, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. The State party should also consider ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Appropriate penalties (17) The Committee expresses concern that sentences of those convicted under Part 1 of article 347-1 of the Criminal Code are not commensurate with the gravity of the offence of torture as required by the Convention (art. 4). The State party should amend Part 1 of article 347-1 of the Criminal Code to ensure that all punishment for acts of torture are at a level commensurate with the gravity of the crime, in accordance with the requirements of the Convention. Suspected perpetrators should, as a rule, be subject to suspension or reassignment during the process of investigation. Perpetrators subjected to disciplinary penalties should not be permitted to remain on their posts. (18) The Committee is also concerned that despite the criminalization of torture in 2002 in a separate article of the Criminal Code, it appears that when prosecuted, law enforcement officials continue to be charged with article 308 or 347 of the Criminal Code (“Excess of authority or official power” or “Coercion to make a confession” respectively) (art. 7). The State party should ensure that all acts of torture are prosecuted under the relevant article of the Criminal Code and that they are not considered as crimes of minor or moderate gravity and sentenced as such. The State party should also ensure that continuous training is mandatory for all sitting judges, prosecutors and lawyers to ensure implementation of new laws and amendments. Universal jurisdiction (19) The Committee is concerned that the State party can only establish its jurisdiction over acts of torture committed abroad by its nationals when the alleged offender is present in its territory or when the State party where the offence was committed apply a punishment for such acts of five years at least. In this respect, the Committee is concerned that this may lead to impunity when the country where the offence is committed is not a party to the Convention, or does not have a specific offence of torture in its legislation, or sanctions it with penalties of less than five years (art. 5). 38