CAT/C/VNM/CO/1 Direct application of the Convention by domestic courts 18. While noting that in case of conflict between domestic legislation, except for the Constitution, and an international treaty to which Viet Nam is a party, the international treaty is to be applied, the Committee is concerned that, in the absence of implementing legislation, the Convention is not a treaty that can be directly applied by the domestic courts (arts. 2, 4 and 12). 19. The State party should: (a) Amend its legislation in order to ensure the full and direct applicability of the relevant provisions of the Convention in national legislation so that it can be invoked in national courts; (b) Widely disseminate the Convention in the State party to all officials concerned, in all official and other relevant languages. Excessive use of force, and deaths in custody 20. The Committee is concerned at: (a) Reports that deaths in custody in facilities run by the police are prevalent in the State party. It is concerned in particular about the 14 documented cases of death in custody in the period 2010–2014 due to police violence, the 4 cases of unexplained death in police custody and the 9 cases of death in custody allegedly attributed either to suicide or illness despite visible signs or proof of torture and ill-treatment and about reports that the actual number of such cases may be much higher. As an illustration, a minor, 17-year-old Do Dang Du, reportedly died in custody on 5 February 2015 as a result of severe injuries to the head and body while in police custody in Chuong My district, Hanoi, for a “less serious” offence, following an attack by three of his teenage cellmates who were allegedly instructed to carry out the assault; (b) The reported excessive use of force by the police, including severe illtreatment and humiliation, during the dispersal of demonstrations in June 2018 (arts. 2, 10– 14 and 16). 21. The State party should: (a) Ensure that all alleged cases of death in custody and complaints of excessive use of force, both in institutions and on the street, are promptly, effectively and impartially investigated by an independent mechanism with no institutional or hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators; (b) Ensure that alleged perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment and deaths in custody are immediately suspended from duty for the duration of the investigation, particularly when there is a risk that they might otherwise be in a position to repeat the alleged acts, and that, if found guilty, the perpetrators are punished in a manner that is commensurate with the gravity of their acts; (c) Elucidate the death in police custody of Do Dang Du and inform the Committee about the outcome; (d) Take preventive measures, including the establishment of an oversight mechanism, to ensure that when police officers use force they respect the principles of necessity and proportionality required by the situation and that they receive mandatory training on the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules); (e) Establish an independent police complaints commission to address complaints from citizens against the police; (f) Ensure that redress and rehabilitation, including medical and psychological assistance, are provided to all victims of torture and ill-treatment and that redress is provided to the families of the deceased; 6