A/67/44 by the courts to victims of violations of the Convention, including individuals who were denied fundamental safeguards or subjected to torture or ill-treatment in detention. The Committee is concerned that the law does not provide means of reparation for victims of torture other than financial compensation. The Committee also notes the lack of information on any treatment and social rehabilitation services, including medical and psychosocial rehabilitation, provided to victims (art. 14). The State party should strengthen its efforts to provide victims of torture and illtreatment with redress, including fair and adequate compensation, and as full rehabilitation as possible. The State party should amend its legislation to include explicit provisions on the right of torture victims to redress, including fair and adequate compensation and rehabilitation for damages caused by torture, in accordance with article 14 of the Convention. It should provide the Committee with information about measures taken in this regard, including allocation of resources for the effective functioning of rehabilitation programmes. Coerced confessions (16) The Committee is concerned by allegations that forced confessions are used as evidence in courts in the State party. The Committee is further concerned by reports that courts have failed to stay criminal proceedings in which the defendant has alleged that a confession was obtained through torture, and to request thorough investigations. The Committee is further concerned about the lack of information provided regarding cases in which the State party’s courts deemed confessions to be inadmissible as evidence on the grounds that they were obtained through torture (art. 2, 11, 15 and 16). The Committee urges the State party to ensure that, in practice, statements obtained by torture are not invoked as evidence in any proceedings. The State party should ensure that, in any case in which a person alleges that a confession was obtained through torture, the proceedings are suspended until the claim has been thoroughly investigated. The Committee urges the State party to review cases of convictions based solely on confessions. The Committee urges the State party to firmly combat any use of torture to extract confessions, and ensure that in practice confessions obtained through torture are never used as evidence in judicial proceedings. The State party should ensure that legislation concerning evidence to be adduced in judicial proceedings is brought in line with article 15 of the Convention and provide information on whether any officials have been prosecuted and punished for extracting such confessions. Independence of the judiciary (17) The Committee is concerned by reports of the lack of independence of the judiciary, in particular by the fact that responsibility for appointing, promoting and dismissing judges rests with the President and executive branch. The Committee is further concerned that the State party’s legislation provides for criminal liability against judges for adopting an unjust judgment or other judicial act (arts. 2, 12 and 13). The State party should take measures to ensure the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary in the performance of its functions, and review the regime of appointment, promotion and dismissal of judges in line with the relevant international standards, including the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, which provides, in part, that judges shall be subject to suspension or removal only for reasons of incapacity or behaviour that renders them unfit to discharge their duties. GE.12-44492 111