A/69/44 Impunity and prompt, effective and impartial investigations (8) The Committee welcomes the criminalization of torture and ill-treatment in sections 3 and 5, respectively, of Law No. 235/90 on the ratification of the Convention, which fully incorporates the definition of torture as set out in the Convention. However, the Committee observes that section 3 of the Law has never been invoked before, or applied by, domestic courts and section 5 has been invoked in only 4 of the 11 criminal cases of alleged illtreatment by police officers registered from 2006 to 2010. The Committee also notes with great concern that, during the same period, out of 128 complaints relating to torture and illtreatment investigated by the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police, only one case ended with a criminal conviction for common assault. The low rate of conviction does not correspond to the documented allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, particularly against immigrants. The Committee also takes into consideration reports that allege a lack of transparency of the investigations and insufficient protection afforded to complainants, who reportedly have been, on various occasions, accused of bodily harm against the police officers they complained about (arts. 1, 2, 4, 12, 13 and 16). The State party should strengthen the implementation of the existing legislation and the measures already adopted to change the culture of impunity by, inter alia: (a) Requiring all officials to report to the Office of the Attorney General cases indicative of ill-treatment, and adopting protective measures to ensure the confidentiality and safety of reporting officers; (b) Ensuring that the Attorney General is duly informed of all the allegations of torture or ill-treatment received by the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints against the Police and carries out prompt, effective and impartial investigations whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment have been committed, including investigation of those officials who knew, or should have known, that ill-treatment was occurring and failed to prevent it or report it; (c) Ensuring that the Attorney General entrusts the investigation of reports of torture or ill-treatment by law enforcement officials only to independent criminal investigators; (d) Ensuring that public officials under investigation of having committed acts of torture or ill-treatment are immediately suspended from their duties and remain so throughout the investigation, subject to the observance of the principle of presumption of innocence; (e) Guaranteeing that complainants are protected against ill-treatment or intimidation that may arise as a consequence of their complaint, and are duly informed of the progress and results of their complaint; (f) Duly bringing to trial alleged perpetrators of acts of torture or illtreatment and, if they are found guilty, punishing them with penalties proportionate to the grave nature of their acts. The Committee draws attention to paragraph 10 of its general comment No. 2 (2007), in which the Committee emphasizes that it would be a violation of the Convention to prosecute conduct solely as ill-treatment where the elements of torture are also present. Domestic violence (9) The Committee welcomes the legislative and other measures aimed at combating domestic violence, including the extension of the legal protection in this area to migrant workers living with their employers and the adoption of the National Action Plan on the 92 GE.14-12596