CAT/C/GAB/CO/1 guilty parties are prosecuted and punished. It should review cases that were based on confessions made under torture or ill-treatment, take appropriate remedial action and inform the Committee of its findings. Corporal punishment inflicted upon children 25. While taking note of the information provided by the State party’s delegation which indicates that children are safeguarded by the Minors Protection Code, by the law on domestic, school-related and institutional violence and by the awareness campaigns conducted in Libreville, Owendo, Makokou and Oyem on the worst forms of corporal punishment inflicted upon schoolchildren, the Committee is concerned by reports indicating that corporal punishment continues to be practised in homes and schools. (art. 16) The State party should takes steps to ensure the effective enforcement of its legislation in order to make certain that corporal punishment is not practised under any circumstances. It should also step up its campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about the harmful effects of corporal punishment and about the fact that it is prohibited. Data collection 26. The Committee regrets that it does not have full, reliable information on complaints, inquiries, trials and convictions relating to acts of torture or ill-treatment committed by law enforcement personnel or prison staff. It also regrets the fact that it does not have full, reliable information on human trafficking, juvenile justice, corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, or victim compensation and rehabilitation. The State party should compile statistics that can be used to assess the application of the Convention at the national level. These statistics should include figures on the complaints filed, investigations conducted, legal proceedings pursued and convictions handed down in cases involving torture or ill-treatment committed by members of the police force or prison staff. Statistics should also be provided on cases of human trafficking, juvenile justice, corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, the redress provided to victims in the form of compensation and the means of rehabilitation made available to them. 27. The Committee recommends that the State party make the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention in order to recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications. 28. The State party is invited to widely disseminate the report that it has submitted to the Committee, as well as these concluding observations, in the appropriate languages through official websites, the media and non-governmental organizations. 29. The Committee urges the State party to provide it with information by 23 November 2013 on the action taken in response to the recommendations set forth by the Committee in paragraphs 8, 10, 17 (a) and (e), and 22 of these concluding observations concerning: (a) the criminalization of torture; (b) the fundamental safeguards in place for the protection of persons held in police custody; (c) prison conditions; and (d) the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of acts of torture and ill-treatment. 30. The Committee invites the State party to submit its second periodic report by 23 November 2016. To this end, it invites the State party to agree, by 23 November 2013, to use the optional reporting procedure, which consists of the transmittal by the Committee of a list of issues prior to the submission of its report. As provided for in article 19 of the Convention, the State party’s responses to that list of issues would constitute its next periodic report. 10 GE.13-40305