CAT/C/BGR/CO/4-5 The State party should enforce the legislation concerning minimum marriage age, clearly indicate that child marriages have no legal effect and constitute a harmful practice, in the light of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and with general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on article 12 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Community awareness-raising campaigns should be carried out regarding the prohibition of these marriages, their harmful consequences and the rights of children. The Committee also urges the State party to enforce the requirement to register all marriages, in order to monitor their legality, as well as to strictly enforce the prohibition of early marriages and to investigate such cases and to prosecute the perpetrators. Trafficking in persons 27. While taking note of the National Programme on Prevention and Counteracting Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims and amendments to the Penal Code, section IX on “Trafficking in human beings”, the Committee is concerned that poverty and social exclusion result in vulnerability of women and children, and in particular Roma women and girls, including those who are pregnant, to human trafficking (arts. 2, 3, 14 and 16). The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, in particular to: (a) Prevent and promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate, prosecute and punish trafficking in persons and related practices; (b) Improve the identification of victims of trafficking and provide means of effective redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, to victims of trafficking, including assistance to victims to report incidents of trafficking to the police, in particular by providing legal, medical and psychological aid and rehabilitation, inter alia, through genuine access to health care and counselling and adequate shelters, in accordance with article 14 of the Convention; (c) Prevent the return of trafficked persons to their countries of origin, where there is a substantial ground to believe that they would be in danger of torture, to ensure compliance with article 3 of the Convention; (d) Provide regular training to the police, prosecutors and judges on effective prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of acts of trafficking, including on the guarantees of the right to be represented by an attorney of one’s own choice, and inform the general public on the criminal nature of such acts; and (e) Compile data disaggregated, as appropriate, by nationality, country of origin, ethnicity, gender, age, and employment, as well as on the provision of redress. Discrimination, hate speech and violence against vulnerable groups 28. While acknowledging the stance taken by the authorities in publicly condemning manifestations of discrimination and intolerance, the Committee is deeply concerned at manifestations of discrimination and intolerance, including hate speech and violent attacks against certain national and religious minorities and persons belonging to sexual minorities. The Committee is also concerned by the excessive use of force by the police against certain minorities and the recent anti-Roma riots and destruction of property, which in some cases occurred without preventive action from the police. It is also concerned that slogans amounting to hate speech are voiced against vulnerable minority groups, including by members of certain political parties and groups and that intolerance towards religious minorities has resulted in vandalism of places of worship and attacks on worshippers. The Committee takes note that the recent attacks on journalists in connection with the antiRoma riots are being investigated (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16). 11