CAT/C/HND/CO/1
page 5
out systematically, and that those responsible are swiftly prosecuted and adequately
punished. It further recommends systematic disaggregated data collection on all
incidents of violence, including against children.
Trafficking in persons
13. The Committee recognizes the efforts made by the State party to address trafficking in
women and children, such as the prohibition of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in
the Criminal Code and in the Anti-Trafficking Act. However, the Committee is concerned about
persistent reports of internal and cross-border trafficking in women and children for both sexual
and other exploitative purposes and it regrets that the legal provisions do not cover trafficking for
reasons other than sexual purposes and that officials suspected of trafficking activities are not
properly investigated (arts. 2, 10 and 16).
The State party should ensure that offenders are prosecuted and punished for the
crime of trafficking in persons, and amend the Criminal Code to include all
exploitative purposes of trafficking. The State party should continue to conduct
nationwide awareness-raising campaigns, provide adequate programmes of
assistance, recovery and reintegration for victims of trafficking and conduct training
for law enforcement officials, migration officials and border police on the causes,
consequences and incidence of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The
Committee further recommends that the State party increase its efforts to seek
international, regional and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin, transit and
destination to prevent trafficking.
Pretrial detention
14. While noting the progress made by the State party since the adoption of the new Code of
Criminal Procedure in abolishing the obligatory pretrial detention and establishing the “juez de
ejecución”, whose mandate is to monitor the legality of remand detention, the Committee is very
concerned at reports of frequent ill-treatment and torture, excessive use of force on arrest, as well
as acts of extortion by law enforcement officials and at the persistent high numbers of detainees,
both children and adults, in prolonged pretrial detention. It further expresses concern at the
various forms of derogations from the general rule for the duration of pretrial detention. The
Committee regrets the lack of use, in practice, of alternatives to imprisonment (arts. 2, 11
and 16).
The State party should take effective measures to send a clear and unambiguous
message to all levels of the law enforcement hierarchy that torture, ill-treatment,
excessive use of force and extortion are unacceptable, and ensure that law
enforcement officials only use force when strictly necessary and to the extent required
for the performance of their duties. The State party should further take appropriate
measures to increase the number of “jueces de ejecución”, to further reduce the
duration of remand detention and derogations thereof, as well as detention before
charges are brought. The Committee also urges the State party to implement
alternatives to deprivation of liberty, including probation, mediation, community
service or suspended sentences.