CAT/C/ARM/CO/3 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.   Violence against women, including trafficking 18. The Committee is concerned by the reported extent of physical and sexual violence against women. Furthermore, it is concerned that women rarely report ill-treatment and violence against them to the police. The Committee is particularly concerned by reports that there are no State-funded shelters available for women victims of domestic violence, which is not criminalized in the State party. The Committee regrets that the State party did not provide information on reparation and compensation, including rehabilitation, provided for victims of violence against women. While noting favourably that various national action plans for combating trafficking in human beings have been adopted during the period under consideration, the Committee is concerned by reports that Armenia remains both a source and destination country for women and girls subjected to trafficking (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The State party should strengthen its efforts to prevent, combat and punish violence against women and children, in particular domestic violence, inter alia, by amending its criminal legislation to make domestic violence a separate crime, conducting awareness-raising campaigns and training on domestic violence for law enforcement personnel and for the public at large, and providing victims of violence with immediate protection and redress, in particular rehabilitation. 6