CAT/C/NLD/CO/5-6 investigations of torture and ill-treatment by public officials in the other parts of the Kingdom, if any and if proven true, amounted to torture, under article 1 of the Convention, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, under article 16 of the Convention (arts. 1, 12, 13 and 16). In accordance with the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2007), the State party should: (a) Provide statistics on the allegations and investigations of torture and illtreatment by public officials in all four parts of the Kingdom; (b) Clarify which of the incidents of ill-treatment by law enforcement officers, if proven true, amount to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (c) Provide training for law enforcement personnel to effectively apply the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in order to appropriately sanction such acts. Direct applicability of the Convention 9. The Committee notes that the State party stated during the consideration of report that the Convention is directly applicable and self-executing; however, Committee has not been provided with specific information on cases in which Convention has been invoked and directly applied before the national courts in individual parts of the Kingdom (arts. 2 and 10). the the the the The Committee recommends that the State party undertake all necessary steps to ensure direct applicability of the Convention, including by disseminating the Convention to all public authorities, including the judiciary, and raising the awareness thereon to facilitate direct application of the Convention before national courts in all four parts of the Kingdom, and that it provide an update on the illustrative cases. Right of access to a lawyer 10. The Committee notes that the right of access to a lawyer is regulated by the instruction of the Board of Procurators General of 1 April 2010. It also observes that the draft Bill on Counsel and Police Interviews is being prepared. However, the Committee is concerned about the practice of restricting the right of access to a lawyer during police interrogation only to suspects under the age of 18 and anyone accused of a crime carrying a prison sentence of six years or more. The Committee is also concerned that the draft Bill contains an exception to the effect that the request for legal assistance can be denied if such legal assistance is “contrary to the interests of the investigation” which may lead to arbitrary restrictions of this right by the Public Prosecution’s Office. The Committee also notes that there are no advocates based in Sint Eustatius and Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) and that detained suspects in police custody in Sint Eustatius often sign a waiver to having a lawyer present during the first police interrogation (art. 2). The State party should: (a) Review, in all parts of the Kingdom, its criminal procedures and practice with a view to guaranteeing to persons in police custody an access to a lawyer from the moment of deprivation of liberty; (b) Consider timely adoption of the draft Bill on Counsel and Police Interviews to allow all suspects of an indictable offence, whether detained or not, to rely on access to and assistance from a lawyer at an earlier stage in the proceedings; (c) Define in law the circumstances when the right to legal assistance can be restricted to avoid arbitrary limitations of the access to a lawyer. 3