CAT/OP/UKR/1 23. The SPT recommends that the Ministry of Internal Affairs issue an official order, prohibiting the setting of crime solving rates for the police, and develop an action plan to tackle the negative culture which their use has generated. 24. The SPT recommends that the State party ensures that there is an appropriate budgetary allocation which is sufficient to ensure that the police force is comprised of well-motivated, appropriately salaried staff, sufficiently trained in modern forensic investigation techniques, and with a proper awareness of human rights approaches. Internal monitoring mechanisms should be put in place to ensure officers’ compliance with international human rights standards. 9 2. General Prosecutor 25. The SPT remains gravely concerned by the multiplicity of roles undertaken by the public prosecutor in (a) conducting criminal investigations, (b) overseeing the legality and human rights compliance of those investigations, and (c) discharging responsibility for the prosecution of persons formally accused. Furthermore, public prosecutors reportedly continued to rely heavily on suspects’ confessions in fulfilling their work. 26. Echoing recommendations of other international bodies, 10 and regional mechanisms,11 the SPT recommends that the multiple roles of the public prosecution be revised, with a view to enhancing the independence of the prosecution’s investigations of allegations of torture and ill-treatment. 27. The SPT further recommends that the State party develop appropriate training of prosecutors to effectively clarify their role vis-à-vis other relevant institutional actors, i.e. police investigators and the judiciary. Such training should include, inter alia, (a) the need to reduce reliance on confession evidence and (b) the obligation to report torture or ill-treatment. The work of the prosecution must fully respect international human rights standards.12 3. Free legal aid 28. Through interviews conducted with persons deprived of their liberty, the SPT found that an effective free legal aid system was lacking in Ukraine. National legislation provides for free legal assistance if a defendant is unable to pay for a lawyer. However, most interviewees who were unable to pay for a lawyer had not been provided with a public defence lawyer or legal aid. Thus, most persons deprived of their liberty were without effective legal representation. 29. The SPT recommends that the State party prioritise the strengthening of the legal aid system, in order to ensure that it has the necessary human and financial resources to enable it to offer adequate legal defence to all persons deprived of their liberty effectively, with an urgent priority being given to those in pre-trial detention, and in particular children in pre-trial detention. 9 10 11 12 6 Including the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/169. Including the recommendations made by the United Nations Committee against Torture in CAT/C/UKR/CO/5, 2007; and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in A/HRC/10/21/Add.4, 2009. Including those made by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in the report on his visit to Ukraine, CommDH(2007)15. Including the United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, 1990.