CAT/C/LKA/CO/5 Sri Lankan contingents deployed in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the Committee remains concerned that only 23 out of more than a hundred members accused were convicted. While noting that disciplinary punishments were imposed by an army court of inquiry, which, according to the State party, acted in accordance with due process, the Committee regrets the failure of the State party to clarify the type of disciplinary punishments meted out and the penalties that were imposed for these serious crimes. The Committee takes note of the information that a stringent vetting process applies to the selection of officers for peacekeeping missions, but regrets the lack of clarification as to whether any of the soldiers accused of child abuse in Haiti would be deployed to the upcoming peacekeeping mission in Mali (arts. 2, 5, 12, 14 and 16). 42. The Committee calls upon the State party to share with the Committee information regarding the investigation of military staff deployed in MINUSTAH on charges of child abuse, including the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, as well as the number of indictments, prosecutions (if any) and penalties imposed. The State party should also ensure that those responsible are criminally punished in accordance with the seriousness of their acts and that victims receive redress, including just and adequate compensation, and as complete a rehabilitation as possible. The State party should take effective steps to prevent this type of abuse in peacekeeping operations, including by providing specific training on the prevention of sexual abuse. For this purpose, the State party should take effective measures to vet any individual, including commanders, who has been involved in child abuse in Haiti as well as other human rights violations in Sri Lanka in order to ensure that they are not deployed to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Non-refoulement 43. Bearing in mind its previous recommendation (see CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, para. 27), the Committee remains concerned that the State party has not yet adopted a national legal and policy framework on asylum to guarantee the non-refoulement principle enshrined in article 3 of the Convention. The Committee notes with concern that asylum seekers are therefore treated as irregular immigrants and are often subjected to arrest and detention before being deported (art. 3). 44. The State party should: (a) Adopt the necessary legislative measures to fully incorporate into domestic legislation the principle of non-refoulement set out in article 3 of the Convention; (b) Promptly establish a national asylum determination procedure that permits a thorough assessment of whether there is a substantial risk that the applicant would be subjected to torture in the country of destination, and conduct medical and psychological examinations when signs of torture or traumatization have been detected among applicants; (c) Ensure that persons in need of international protection are not detained or that detention is used only as a measure of last resort, after alternatives have been duly examined and exhausted, and for the shortest possible time, in detention centres that are suitable for their purpose and whose regime is different from that of penal institutions; (d) Consider ratifying the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto. 13

Select target paragraph3