E/CN.4/2000/9/Add.1 page 29 141. Concerning the recommendation that convicted prisoners should be separated from unconvicted prisoners, the Government indicated that following the June 1997 census the classification of prisoners set forth in the Penal Code had been introduced; the Code referred to convicted and unconvicted prisoners, judicial detainees, detention centres and general prisons. It noted that the new CCP empowered judges to order pre-trial detention in limited cases, where there was reliable evidence of guilt and a danger of the person fleeing or concealing evidence. 142. The Rapporteur also recommended that first-time offenders should be kept separate from recidivists, and that those held in connection with the commission of serious offences, particularly of a violent nature, should be kept separate from other detainees or prisoners. The Government stated that, following the establishment of the detainees’ register, a review of individual cases had begun. It also hoped to comply with the recommendation through the prison buildings construction programme already under way, the acceleration of proceedings and relieving overcrowding in prisons. 143. The Rapporteur recommended that children should be deprived of liberty only as a last resort. They should also be held in centres intended for them alone, where they should receive medical, psychological and educational assistance. On that point, the Government drew attention to a series of programmes undertaken by the National Children’s Institute, and described a few of them: initial assessment centres, diagnostic and treatment centres, external consultation service and probation service. All the programmes attempted to address the problem of children in conflict with the law from different standpoints. 144. The Rapporteur recommended that a trained corps of personnel should be available to ensure that prisoners were treated in accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and that control of prisons should never be abandoned to their inmates. The Government stated that the training programmes of the University Institute for Prison Studies were being reviewed to ensure that prisons received sound technical assistance from the evaluation, security and management teams. Plans also focused on providing not only supervisory, but also custodial, staff with training in therapeutic techniques to assist prisoners, through the establishment of scientifically classified treatment modules. During 1997 the Ministry of Justice had changed the job description for prison governors, requiring them to be qualified lawyers of standing with the humanitarian qualities needed to carry out their tasks. Measures had been taken to ensure that all staff joining the prison service were properly selected and trained. The Government stated that the problem of prison violence was closely linked to drugs; accordingly, the preventive inspection and monitoring programme had been designed in order to detect drugs as they entered prisons. To end possession of weapons by inmates, a national weapons return campaign had been held. 145. The Rapporteur recommended that changes in the system of criminal procedure and the judiciary should be implemented promptly, especially with regard to delays in the administration of justice. According to the Government, the new CCP guaranteed “prompt and transparent justice, imbued with equity”. 146. With regard to the recommendation on the establishment of a national institution for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Government reported the establishment, in 1996, of the National Human Rights Commission, with the following objectives: to advise the