A/66/44 him to torture, for “conspiring to undermine the constitution and violently overthrow the government”. The Committee stresses that the conditions of detention of convicted prisoners on death row may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in particular owing to the excessive length of time on death row (arts. 2 and 16). The Committee recommends that the State party consider ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty. The Committee also recommends that the State party consider extending its de facto moratorium on the execution of the death penalty and commuting death sentences for prisoners on death row. The State party should ensure that all persons on death row are afforded the protection provided by the Convention and are treated humanely. The Committee requests the State party to indicate the current number of persons on death row, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity and offence. National human rights institution (25) The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the State party concerning the mandate of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to undertake visits to places of deprivation of liberty and to examine complaints about alleged violations of human rights, including those protected by the Convention. The Committee notes the lack of follow-up on the suggestions and recommendations made by EHRC in its Correctional Facilities Monitoring Visit Report and the limited powers of EHRC to initiate prosecutions in cases where torture or ill-treatment is found to have occurred (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The State party should strengthen the role and mandate of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to undertake regular and unannounced visits to places of deprivation of liberty and to issue independent findings and recommendations on such visits. It should also give due weight to the conclusions of EHRC on individual complaints, including by communicating such conclusions to the public prosecutor’s office in cases where torture or ill-treatment is found to have occurred. The State party is requested to provide information, including statistical data, on the complaints examined by EHRC in relation to alleged torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to indicate whether any such cases have been submitted to the competent authorities for prosecution. Furthermore, the State party should intensify its efforts to ensure that EHRC is in full compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles). Conditions of detention (26) The Committee notes the State party’s efforts to reflect the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials in its legislation and administrative regulations for the treatment of prisoners and detainees (see State party report, paras. 54–55). However, the Committee remains seriously concerned about consistent reports of overcrowding, poor hygienic and sanitary conditions, lack of sleeping space, food and water, the absence of adequate health care, including for pregnant women and HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients, the absence of specialized facilities for prisoners and detainees with disabilities, co-detention of juveniles with adults, and inadequate protection of juvenile prisoners and children detained with their mothers from violence in prisons and places of detention in the State party (arts. 11 and 16). The State party should take urgent measures to bring the conditions of detention in police stations, prisons and other places of detention into line with the Standard GE.11-45568 49