20 per 1,000, care and free due to social welfare policies such as food health care for the entire population. subsidies, pre-natal the representative said that Sri Lanka wa6 466. In reply to other questions, becoming a transshipment point for illicit drug trafficking, and the Government had maintained the death penalty as a deterrent to potential It had been left to the discretion of the Inspector General of offenders. Police to call for an inquest where a preliminary investigation indicated that there was some culpability on the part of the person who had caused 8 death, but inquests were not usually held after shootouts between terrorists and government forces. Cases of persons dying while in police custody had been investigated: in at least two cases the officer6 involved had been convicted. risoners and 0-r de- of the Committee asked what control6 461. With regard to that issue , member6 had been instituted to ensure that persons arrested or detained were not subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments whether machinery existed for carrying out an independent and impartial investigation of allegations of torture and of arbitrary and extrajudicial executions and, if 60, whether any such independent investigations had been conducted: what the arrangements were for the supervision of places of detention and for receiving and invastigatinq complaint6 ; whether the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons .under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment wers complied with: whether the relevant regulations and directive6 were known and accessible to prisoners1 whether the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had full access to the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka; whether the authorities were prohibited from detaining any person in a plaae other than a publicly recognised and gazetted prison and, if not, whether judge6 were allowed to visit such unofficial detention centres. 468. In reply to questions posed by menbers of the Committee, the representative said that every person admitted to prison was examined by a doctor and was informed of his rights and duties, including the right to complain about any ill-treatment. The briefing of detainee6 also included information regarding the United Nation6 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and, in places where the Standard Minimqm Rules were available for reference, detainee6 were free to consult them. The Emergency Regulations required the magistrate having jurisdiction over a prison to visit it at regular interval6 and to record any complaint6 from detainees. Under the Prisons Ordinance, the Minister of Ju6tice appointed a Board of Visitors, which was empowered to visit any prison in Sri Lanka to examine prison conditions, hear the complaint6 of inmates and make appropriate recommendations to the authorities. Moreover, members of the delegation of the ICRC currently ix Sri Lanka were granted free access to all places of detention, and their reports were considered at the highest political level, The Supreme Court could and did enamine allegation6 of torture made by detainees. The Court of Appeal, when exemining the legality of detention by the procedure of a writ of habeas, could examine any allegation of mistreatment of a detainee during his period in custody, but in most cases inquiries proved that such allegations were unfounded. A representative committee under the umbrella of the All Parties Conference was required periodically to visit places other than regular prisons where detainees were being held. -llS-