A/HRC/13/39/Add.2 guards, as those who arrest and investigate crimes would no longer be the same staff who administer the prisons and are responsible for the safety and security of prisoners. 89. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the ongoing efforts to reform the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.83 In this context, he would like to point out the importance of moving away from a punitive penal and penitentiary system directed at locking people up to one aiming to reintegrate prisoners in society. Non-custodial measures need to be introduced and implemented. Further, he would like to stress that prisoners are deprived of their liberty, but not of their liberties, meaning that all other human rights must in principle be respected in prison. Therefore, the utmost must be done to ensure that life in prison resembles, as much as possible, life on the other side of the wall. In addition to general prison conditions and the provision of basic needs, prisoners must be granted the right to work, education and other meaningful activities which will facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. 90. Moreover, prison staff must receive adequate training to prepare them for a prison environment whose aim should be the reintegration of convicts into society. In addition, there is a need to raise awareness among the public regarding the purpose and aim of imprisonment, bringing society closer to those in prison and fostering a better understanding of the prisoner’s need for rehabilitation and reintegration. 91. The Special Rapporteur is convinced that only with such a drastically reformed criminal justice policy will the Government be prepared to address the deep-rooted problems currently faced by the penitentiary system. V. Impunity and dealing with the past 92. The fight against impunity is an important tool for eradicating torture. The Special Rapporteur was informed that none of the public servants who allegedly committed torture during the dictatorship, or in the more recent past, have been indicted for those crimes. Some public officials were indicted for other crimes such as homicide, abuse of power or injuring a detainee, but no information is available that indicates whether these cases were related to acts of torture or other ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to ensure that all reported or suspected cases of torture and ill-treatment are investigated by independent authorities, and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. 93. After the end of the military dictatorship, the Government of Uruguay adopted the Law on the Expiration of the Punitive Claim by the State in 1986. This law granted immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during the dictatorship to former military and police officers. Since 1 March 2005, a more liberal interpretation and application of the Law has allowed for both military and civilian officers to be prosecuted, although no cases of torture have been included in the indictments presented so far. On 26 March 2009, the court handed down two judgements sentencing eight former police and military officers to between 20 and 25 years’ imprisonment. Several other trials are currently ongoing, albeit slowly, indicating the positive efforts by the Government to address the crimes committed during the dictatorship.84 However, some persons accused of having committed crimes 83 84 20 The Government informed that the Commission, established by Law 17.897, has finalized its work and that the executive branch submitted new draft texts on the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code to the legislative branch. These draft texts enshrine the right to freedom of movement and specify that deprivation of liberty pending trial is not a principle; in addition they contain provisions to apply alternative measures to prison sentences. Discussions regarding these drafts will start in February 2010. A/HRC/12/12, para. 32. GE.09-17655