A/HRC/16/52/Add.5 Convention, recognizing the competence of the Committee against Torture to receive and consider communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention; (c) Ratify the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, providing for the right to lodge individual complaints to the Human Rights Committee; (d) Amend domestic legislation to include the crime of torture with adequate penalties. The definition of this crime should be in full accordance with article 1 of the Convention against Torture; (e) Ensure prompt and thorough ex officio investigations for all allegations and suspicions of ill-treatment or excessive use of force by an authority that is independent from the investigation and prosecution. Any officer known to be abusive should be removed from custodial duties. Heads of police stations and detention facilities should be made aware of their supervisory responsibility. In particular, the allegations documented in the appendix to the present report should be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment brought to justice. The forensic examinations conducted during the mission should be used as evidence in criminal trials against the perpetrators; (f) Ensure a comprehensive and structural reform of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in accordance with the September 2004 recommendations of the Administrative Review Committee to the Minister for Internal Security. 2. Safeguards and prevention 82. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (a) Reduce, as a matter of urgent priority, the period of police custody to a time limit in line with international standards (maximum 48 hours). After this period, detainees should be released or transferred to a separate remand facility under a different authority; (b) Establish accessible and effective complaint mechanisms in all places of detention. Complaints by detainees should be followed up by independent and thorough investigations, and complainants must be protected from reprisals. 3. Condition of detention 83. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (a) Ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are confined in facilities where conditions comply with international minimum sanitary and hygiene standards and that detainees are provided with basic necessities, such as adequate floor space, bedding, food, water and health care. Prisoners should be provided with opportunities for work, education, recreation and rehabilitation; (b) Separate detainees on remand from convicted prisoners; (c) Remove all juveniles from police lock-ups; (d) Immediately close the Mount Hagen police station; (e) Build, as a matter of urgency, a proper correctional institution in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. 18