E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.2 page 23 technology, which means that their protection work is limited in scope. Failure to use the pre-trial hearing procedure under the Code of Criminal Procedure is due, in part, to the impossibility of mounting defence programmes in urgent cases. 93. In its contacts, particularly with lawyers and representatives of civil society, the Group developed the feeling that several decades of authoritarian regimes in Indonesia have often contributed to some form of desensitization in relation to human rights. This can take the form of loss of confidence in institutions, of acceptance of the absence of the rule of law and of a certain fatalism vis-à-vis the phenomena of impunity and corruption. On this last point, the Working Group considers that the envisaged judicial proceedings against the highest official of the former regime, especially for embezzlement of public funds and other economic crimes, should be conducted with firmness, independence and transparency so as to permit public opinion to regain confidence in the country's institutions. V. RECOMMENDATIONS 94. Apart from encouraging continuation of the process of ratification of several international human rights instruments which is either under way or under examination, the Group makes the following recommendations. Recommendation 1 95. First priority: to intensify, on a non-discriminatory basis, measures consistent with the current policy of releasing all political prisoners incarcerated or convicted under the old regime. Recommendation 2 96. Second priority: to reinforce the independence of the police by separating them from the armed forces and placing them under the sole authority of the Ministry of Justice or, at the very least, a civil authority. Recommendation 3 97. Third priority: to reinforce the independence of the judges by placing the judiciary under the authority not of the Ministry of Justice but of the Supreme Court. The law should guarantee that they cannot be removed from office, which implies that their status of civil servants should be eliminated and that they should be granted a specific status guaranteeing their personal independence. Recommendation 4 98. Information and education efforts should be intensified, especially in the context of bilateral or multilateral technical cooperation programmes, with a view to ensuring respect for and proper implementation of certain existing laws which provide sufficient procedural guarantees. Priority should be given to: