CAT/C/MEX/CO/7 Definition of the offence of torture 10. The Committee considers the new definition of the offence of torture introduced by the General Act on Torture (arts. 24 and 25) to be broadly in line with the provisions of article 1 of the Convention, although it is concerned that it does not explicitly address acts of torture committed with the aim or purpose of obtaining information or a confession from a third person or acts intended to intimidate or coerce persons other than the victim (art. 1). 11. The Committee urges the State party to amend the definition of the offence of torture contained in articles 24 and 25 of the General Act on Torture to expressly include acts of torture committed for the purpose of intimidating, coercing or obtaining information or a confession from a third person. National programme against torture 12. The Committee regrets that the State party has not yet adopted a national programme to prevent and punish torture and ill-treatment in application of the provisions of articles 69 to 71 of the General Act on Torture. It takes note, however, of the work under way and the consultations held with non-governmental organizations, government agencies and international organizations on 30 April 2019 (art. 2). 13. The Committee encourages the State party to finalize the development and adoption of the national programme to prevent and punish torture and ill-treatment and to allocate the corresponding budget, ensuring that civil society organizations specialized in documenting cases of torture and/or assisting victims are involved, as required under article 70 of the General Act on Torture. Fundamental legal safeguards 14. While familiar with the provisions of article 20 (b) (VIII) of the Constitution, which stipulates that all persons facing criminal charges have the right to a defence, and with the relevant case law of the Supreme Court, the Committee is concerned about consistent reports indicating that Ministry officials often impede access to legal assistance for persons deprived of their liberty and that public defenders, particularly at the local level, do not always act to address possible abuses committed against their clients while in detention. The Committee is also concerned about reports that persons deprived of their liberty often do not have immediate access to an independent medical doctor and that not all arrests are reported promptly. Furthermore, the Committee is gravely concerned about the data on these and other fundamental safeguards against torture and ill-treatment collected in the 2016 national survey of persons deprived of their liberty. Accordingly, the Committee regrets that the State party has not provided information on the number of complaints filed during the period under review and the procedures in place to ensure that the fundamental safeguards recognized to persons deprived of their liberty under its legislation are respected in practice (art. 2). 15. The State party should: (a) Take effective measures to ensure that detainees enjoy the benefits of all fundamental safeguards in practice from the outset of their deprivation of liberty, in line with international standards, including, in particular: the right to receive legal assistance without delay and the right to receive such assistance free of charge if necessary; the right to request and obtain immediate access to an independent doctor, in addition to any medical examination that may be conducted at the authorities’ behest; the right to be informed of the reasons for their detention and the nature of the charges against them in a language that they understand; the right to have their detention recorded in a register; the right to inform a family member or another person of their detention without delay; the right to challenge the legality of their detention before a court; and the right to be brought before a judge without delay; (b) Strengthen its public defence agencies; (c) Adopt the national legislation on detention registers envisaged under article 73 (XXIII) of the Constitution, which should be applied in all places of deprivation of liberty. 4 GE.19-12617