A/68/44 concerned by the incidence of violence against women, including marital rape, as well as female genital mutilation and sexual abuse of women in prison. The Committee is concerned by the insufficient progress made in reducing trafficking in persons, especially women and girls, in particular for the purpose of sexual exploitation (arts. 2 and 16). The State party should: (a) Draft and adopt, as a matter of priority, comprehensive legislation on violence against women, making acts of sexual violence, including marital rape, and domestic violence offences in their own right in the new Criminal Code; (b) Strengthen efforts to prevent violence against women, including domestic violence, female genital mutilation, violence in prison and trafficking in women and girls, particularly for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and encourage victims to press charges; (c) Duly investigate, prosecute and, where applicable, punish perpetrators; (d) Train judges, prosecutors and police officers on the strict application of the law prohibiting female genital mutilation and provide statistics on the number of complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions linked to violence against women and female genital mutilation; (e) Conduct nationwide public awareness campaigns to publicize the prohibition of female genital mutilation. Non-refoulement (16) The Committee regrets that incomplete information was provided in the report on the procedures and measures introduced by the State party to fulfil its obligation of complying with the principle of non-refoulement pursuant to article 3 of the Convention (art. 3). The Committee recommends that the State party should: (a) Respect the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with article 3 of the Convention, and in particular the obligation to check whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the asylum seeker would be in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment if expelled, including by systematically conducting individual interviews to evaluate the personal risk incurred by applicants; (b) Introduce in the Criminal Code the right to an appeal with suspensive effect against expulsion decisions, and respect all guarantees in the context of asylum and expulsion procedures pending the outcome of appeals. Training on the prohibition of torture (17) While noting the many training sessions organized for members of the security services, including in the area of human rights, the Committee is concerned by the absence of training on the Convention against Torture, and in particular the absolute prohibition of torture, for police officers, gendarmes, prefectural guards, criminal investigation police, prison guards and law enforcement personnel such as judges, prosecutors, magistrates, prefects, subprefects and lawyers. It is also concerned that the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol) is not systematically followed in investigations into cases of torture or ill-treatment (art. 10). The Committee recommends that the State party should: (a) Implement training programmes and prepare modules on human rights to ensure that security personnel such as police officers, gendarmes, prefectural GE.13-46043 91

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