CAMEROON* 37. The Committee considered the third periodic report of Cameroon (CAT/C/34/Add.17) at its 585th, 588th and 590th meetings, held on 18, 19 and 20 November 2003 (CAT/C/SR.585, 588 and 590), and adopted the following conclusions and recommendations. A. Introduction 38. The Committee welcomes the third report of Cameroon, which was prepared in conformity with the Committee’s guidelines and contains responses to the Committee’s previous recommendations. It nevertheless notes that the report, which was submitted at the end of 2002, covers only the period 1996-2000. The Committee welcomes the presence of a delegation of high-level experts to reply to the many questions put to them. B. Positive aspects 39. The Committee takes note with satisfaction of the following: (a) The State party’s efforts to pass legislation to give effect to the Convention; (b) The dissolution, in 2001, of the Douala operational command responsible for combating highway robbery, as recommended by the Committee; (c) The increase in the number of police officers, in conformity with the Committee’s recommendation; (d) The plan to build additional prisons in order to remedy prison overcrowding, and the collective pardon granted in November 2002 enabling 1,757 detainees to be immediately released; (e) The assurance given by the delegation that the verification of the individual situations of detainees and appellants will eventually result in the release of the range of persons held in pre-trial detention, notably juveniles, women and sick persons; (f) The proposed restructuring of the National Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms to make it more independent of the executive and give it greater prominence; (g) The current finalization of a law against violence against women; (h) The establishment of the Ad Hoc Technical Committee for Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, with a view to ratification of that Statute; (i) The establishment of nine new courts in 2001. * Also published as CAT/C/CR/31/6. 23