The State party should incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture and adopt a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture, inter alia, by alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims, and the public, to the special gravity of the crime of torture and by improving the deterrent effect of the prohibition itself. The Committee recommends that the State party review its rules and provisions on the statute of limitations to ensure that they are fully in line with its obligations under the Convention, so that acts of torture as well as attempts to commit torture and acts by any person which constitute complicity or participation in torture, as established by article 1 of the Convention, can be investigated, prosecuted and punished without time limitations. National human rights institution (6) The Committee notes the existence of the Lithuanian Ombudsman’s Offices, including the Seimas Ombudsman. However, it regrets the lack of information provided on the number of complaints of alleged ill-treatment or torture received by the Seimas Ombudsman’s Office, the number of investigations carried out by this office, the number of these cases that went to trial, and the outcomes of such trials, including information on the kinds of punishments meted out and compensation offered to victims, if any. The Committee also regrets the lack of information on the human and financial resources allocated to the office (art. 2). The State party should take appropriate measures to ensure the effective functioning of the Ombudsman institution, including the requisite human and financial resources. The State party should provide more information in its next periodic report as to whether any cases concerning ill-treatment perpetrated by police officers and other officials were opened or investigated. The State party is encouraged to seek accreditation with the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions to ensure that it complies with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex), including with regard to its independence. Fundamental safeguards (7) The Committee notes the adoption by the Minister of Health of the 2004 Order No. V-8 regulating the objectives and functions of medical stations at detention facilities. However, the Committee notes with concern that the Order may not provide detainees the right to request and receive a medical examination by a doctor at their own request. It also regrets the lack of information on the number of doctors currently working in detention facilities, and the system in place to ensure that detainees may have access to them (arts. 2 and 16). The State party should take effective measures to ensure that all detainees are afforded fundamental legal safeguards in practice, including the right to have access to a doctor. The Committee recommends that the State party provide more information on the number of doctors currently working in detention facilities, and the system in place to ensure that detainees may have access to them. Asylum-seekers (8) The Committee welcomes the information provided by the delegation that the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens (Aliens Law) has been amended in November 2006 and that asylum-seekers are now exempt from detention, even in cases where they enter or stay illegally in the State party. While noting that the State party provides mandatory medical screening to newly arrived asylum-seekers upon arrival to the accommodation facilities at the Foreigners’ Registration Centre (FRC) in Padrade, the Committee is concerned that there is no mechanism in place to identify persons with special needs and possible victims of torture or ill-treatment. The Committee is also concerned that all asylum-seekers, including single women or women with children, and traumatized asylum-seekers, are accommodated in the same building (arts. 2 and 16). The Committee recommends that the State party take necessary steps to ensure appropriate reception conditions for asylum-seekers with special needs, such as single women or women with children and 52