CAT/C/COD/CO/2 conflict zones; (b) accusations of desertion made against them even though they are forcibly recruited into armed groups; (c) their detention in adult prisons; and (d) the persistence of harmful practices such as female genital mutilation in certain regions of the country, accusations of witchcraft, and forced and early marriage. The Committee is also deeply concerned about reports of police operations during which children suspected of having committed serious offences are alleged to have been arbitrarily arrested and, in some cases, summarily executed, without any proceedings having been initiated. More generally, the Committee is concerned about the inadequacy of the institutional and financial resources allocated for the protection of children, notwithstanding the adoption of Act No. 09/001. In this regard, the Committee expresses regret that the National Council for Children, which is provided for in the Act, has yet to become operational, and that there is no comprehensive mechanism for reporting cases of abuse, sexual violence or ill-treatment of children (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16). 35. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Automatically launch investigations and proceedings when child abuse, including sexual violence, is suspected, so that perpetrators are punished and victims receive reparation, including rehabilitation measures and health care that encompasses psychological support; (b) Adopt legislation criminalizing the practice of genital mutilation and bring the perpetrators to justice; (c) Ensure that children are not held alongside adults and that their conditions of detention are appropriate to their status as minors; (d) Provide the special police units for the protection of women and children with the necessary human and financial resources to conduct effective and independent investigations into juvenile crime; (e) Establish the National Council for Children. Death penalty 36. While noting with satisfaction the de facto moratorium applied by the State party, which has not carried out any executions since 2003, the Committee remains very concerned about: (a) the lack of data on death sentences; (b) the fact that such sentences are still handed down, including against minors, notwithstanding article 9 of Act No. 09/001, which explicitly prohibits the death penalty for children; (c) the lack of information provided to condemned prisoners regarding their situation and rights; and (d) the fact that such persons, who are held under the regular prison regime, face conditions of detention that, in and of themselves, amount to ill-treatment (art. 16). 37. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Commute all death sentences already handed down to prison sentences and initiate a process to formally abolish the death penalty in law; (b) Ensure that Act No. 09/001 is scrupulously applied and that no person under 18 years old is sentenced to death; (c) Ensure that conditions of detention for condemned prisoners do not constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment by taking immediate steps to strengthen legal safeguards, in particular guaranteeing such persons and their defence counsel full access to all evidence in their case files and providing condemned prisoners with all available information on their situation and rights; (d) Provide the Committee, in its next periodic report, with information on the precise number of death sentences passed, the courts responsible and the crimes for which those sentences were handed down. Training 38. While taking note of the efforts made by the State party to provide general human rights training for members of the police, the armed forces and prison staff, among others, 8 GE.19-08966