CAT/C/NLD/CO/5-6 The Committee recommends that the State party carry out thorough investigations of deaths and ascertain whether there is a link between the use of measures of physical restraints and the incidents of death in places of detention. Use of Electrical Discharge Weapons (Tasers) 27. The Committee is concerned about the pilot plan to be reportedly launched to distribute electrical discharge weapons to the entire Dutch police force, without due safeguards against misuse and proper training for the personnel. The Committee is concerned that this may lead to excessive use of force (arts. 2, 11 and 16). The Committee recommends to the State party, in accordance with articles 2 and 16 of the Convention, to refrain from flat distribution and use of electrical discharge weapons by police officers. It also recommends adopting safeguards against misuse and providing proper training for the personnel to avoid excessive use of force. In addition, the Committee recommends that electrical discharge weapons should be used exclusively in extreme limited situations where there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury, as a substitute for lethal weapons. The National Agency for the Prevention of Torture 28. The Committee takes positive note that the State party designated six different bodies as the national preventive mechanism (NPM) in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention in April 2012 (three national inspectorates on public order and safety, health care and youth care, a supervisory commission and a council, coordinated by the Inspectorate of Justice and Security). Since the inspectorates that form the NPM are organisational divisions of various ministries, the Committee is concerned about the alleged lack of perceived independence of the NPM and the limitation of its mandate to the European part of the Netherlands (arts. 2 and 12). While noting that the Optional Protocol leaves the institutional format in which the NPM is established to the State party’s discretion, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure and respect complete financial and operational independence of the NPM, both factual and perceived, when carrying out its functions, in accordance with article 18, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol and the Subcommittee on Prevention on Torture’s “Guidelines on national preventive mechanisms”, with due regard to the Paris Principles; (b) Explain, in its next periodic report, what progress has been made to accept and apply the Optional Protocol to the Caribbean part of its territory and the autonomous islands in order to establish the NPMs tailored for the needs of the islands and allow for the visits by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. The National Human Rights Institution 29. The Committee notes with appreciation the establishment of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights in October 2012, independent from the Government, but it regrets that while the mandate extends to the Caribbean Netherlands it does not cover the autonomous territories of the Kingdom. In this respect it notes the commitment made by the Governments of Aruba and Curaçao in the context of the universal periodic review to establish similar but separate institutions (arts. 2 and 12). The Committee recommends that the Governments of Aruba and Curaçao deliver on their commitment and establish separate national human rights institutions as a matter of priority. The Government of St. Maarten should also consider establishing a national human rights institution. 10