CAT/C/ECU/CO/4-6 Impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment 16. The Committee notes with concern that, according to the information provided by the State party in its periodic report (para. 181), the Internal Affairs Unit of the National Police has apparently submitted to the ordinary and police courts only 59 of the 299 complaints of alleged ill-treatment, torture or physical assault brought to its attention between May 2005 and December 2008. In addition, the State party’s periodic report indicates (paras. 164–166) that between 2003 and 2008 “only two trials for offences against individual freedom and torture have resulted in convictions”. The Committee is also concerned that, according to the information provided by the State party’s delegation, during the current year only five specific complaints have been lodged concerning illtreatment in the State party’s prison system, all of them relating to centres for youth offenders. The Committee considers that these data contrast with the persistent reports and wealth of documentation received from other sources concerning cases of torture and illtreatment of persons deprived of their liberty. At the same time, the Committee notes with interest Ministerial Decision No. 1435, issued by the Ministry of the Interior on 9 June 2010, instructing the Internal Affairs Unit that “even if the procedural deadline for investigation has expired, all cases involving human rights violations which are found to have been closed or filed without a proper investigation and/or those in which new elements come to light which potentially reveal civil, criminal or administrative liability on the part of members of the police forces shall be reopened and submitted to the appropriate authorities” (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Take appropriate measures to ensure that a prompt and impartial investigation is made into all complaints of torture or ill-treatment. In particular, such investigations should be the responsibility of an independent body, not under the authority of the police; (b) Review the effectiveness of the internal complaints system available to detainees and consider establishing an independent complaints system for all persons deprived of their liberty; (c) Duly bring to trial the alleged perpetrators of acts of torture or illtreatment and, if they are found guilty, sentence them to penalties that are consistent with the seriousness of their acts; (d) Provide the victims with proper compensation and focus its efforts on their fullest possible rehabilitation. The Truth Commission 17. The Committee takes note with satisfaction of the final report of the Truth Commission (see paragraph 7 (d) above), and in particular of the conclusions and recommendations reached after investigations into 118 cases of human rights violations committed in Ecuador between 1984 and 2008, several of which were collective in nature, and which concerned a total of 456 recognized victims. The final report confirms that 269 persons were unlawfully deprived of their liberty; 365 were tortured; 86 were sexually assaulted; 17 were victims of enforced disappearance; 68 were summarily executed; and 26 others were victims of “attempts on their life”. On 8 June 2010, the Truth Commission presented, with the support of the Ombudsman and in compliance with article 6 of Executive Decree No. 305 of 3 May 2007, a proposal concerning mechanisms to follow up on its recommendations, set forth in the “bill to provide reparation for victims and ensure the prosecution of serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed in Ecuador between 4 October 1983 and 31 December 2008”. The Committee also takes note of the establishment, by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, of a special unit to 6 GE.11-40392