134.There are two other types of visits, the first of which is conducted in the company of the members of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, while the second is of an official nature and is conducted in order to plan, together with prison authorities, artistic, cultural and sporting activities and the dissemination of information on criminal law. These efforts have resulted in the following: “Cultural Thursdays” in Tacumbú and the first music festival for prisoners in the country, where prisoners participate in the initial selection process for the final competition to be held in the capital. Trips have been made to every district to inform prisoners about the event, while at the same time taking advantage of the opportunity to observe the situation in the prisons. Authorization for prisoners to leave the prison under custody in order to sell handicrafts that they have made themselves. The purpose of this is to encourage their rehabilitation and to provide a substantial income that will allow them to help their families. The products are sold in pre-established locations. The creation of two vegetable gardens, one in Emboscada and the other in the Granja Coe Puaju in Asunción, a tilapia farm and a poultry and rabbit farm. All of these initiatives have been arranged for by the criminal enforcement courts. The construction of a wing in Tacumbú Prison for mentally-ill prisoners, with bathrooms, ceiling fans, and capacity for 250 people, through the “Obligation to Provide” initiative (see photos in annex 3). 135.The Public Defender’s Offices for the criminal enforcement courts enjoy the competencies provided to them by law. Their functions are regulated by articles 490 to 501 of the Title on Enforcement of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and most specifically article 491 on the role of the defence during the sentence enforcement stage. In general terms, they are also regulated by articles 19 (conditional suspension of proceedings), 44 (deferment of sentence under supervision) and 51 (parole) of the Criminal Code, as well as articles 6 and 98 to 111 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Agreement No. 222 of 5 July 2001. 136.Generally speaking, visits by representatives of the Public Defenders’ Offices of the criminal enforcement courts to detention centres, whether for adults, minors or women, are conducted once a month, apart from those made in exceptional cases, such as when an urgent need arises to talk to a particular prisoner, to request family contact, to request documents, etc. During each visit, the public defender signs a visitor registry and must present a form indicating the date of the visit, name and signature of the prisoner visited. That form is handed over to the head of the prison’s judicial department. 137.The manner in which complaints of ill-treatment are handled depends on the degree of seriousness of the allegation (interview with the head of the institution or note or verbal communication sent to the enforcement judge for the case). The most common complaints concern lack of treatment for health problems, lack of suitable medicine, and requests by prisoners to be transferred to prisons elsewhere in the country so they can be closer to their families. 138.The number of cases before the Public Defender’s Office for the criminal enforcement courts is constantly changing, depending on the number entering or the number of prisoners serving sentences, but there are generally about 300 case files, on average, for each public defender’s office. Since there are four such offices in the capital, the total is approximately 1,200 case files. Paragraph 313 (c) 139.The draft law is annexed to this document, as requested. The Office of the Public Defender reports that certain advances have been made, as the draft law has now been approved by three subcommittees. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Enrique Salim Buzarquis, has assured Minister Alicia Pucheta and the Chief Public Defender, Dr. Yore, that it will be considered in a plenary session within the first few days after the start of the 2010 session. Paragraph 313 (d) 140.The Ministry of Justice and Labour has provided the requested regulations in an annex to this document.