become proactive in dealing with it. Currently, their actions appear to depend largely on the existence of public pressure to act in certain cases, the submission of criminal complaints by private individuals or NGOs representing them, or the initiation of private prosecutions. The Committee wishes to recall in this regard that the State party has an obligation to spare no effort to investigate all cases of torture, provide compensation for the loss or injury caused and prosecute the persons responsible. Furthermore, under Security Council resolution 827 (1993) and the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the State party also has an obligation to cooperate fully with the Tribunal in the investigation and prosecution of persons accused of committing serious violations of international humanitarian law, including torture. 213.In the light of these conclusions, the Committee considered it appropriate to make the following recommendations: (a)Complaints relating to allegations of torture by public officials under the previous regime should be fully and impartially investigated, the offenders prosecuted and the victims compensated. The results of such investigations should be made public; (b)Full cooperation should be extended to ICTY, including through apprehending and transferring those persons who have been indicted and remain at large, as well as granting the Tribunal full access to requested documents and potential witnesses; (c)The Commission for Truth and Reconciliation should be empowered to investigate all allegations of torture committed under the previous regime, make its findings public and recommend remedial action, including the prosecution of individuals, where appropriate. The Commission should be given, as necessary, the authority and the means to fulfil its mandate as soon as possible; (d)The law should ensure that safeguards are in place to prevent torture of all detainees in police custody, whether charged with serious crimes or other offences, and to enable them to notify their families and to have access to a doctor and legal counsel of their choice; (e)The State party should fully ensure the independence of the judiciary and the procuracy; (f)The State party should take such measures as are necessary to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are not mistreated by law enforcement personnel because of discrimination; (g)A system of inspection of the conditions of imprisonment by independent experts should be established. Visits to prisons by NGOs should continue to be allowed; (h)The crime of torture, as defined in the Convention, should be incorporated into the domestic law. The State party is reminded that torture is considered an international crime under customary international law, as well as under the Convention. No statute of limitations should apply to torture or any other international crime. In parallel with this the right to fair and adequate compensation and rehabilitation should be introduced, as laid out in the Convention; (i)Under article 12 of the Convention, prosecutors and judges should investigate allegations of torture whenever they come to their attention, whether or not the victim has filed a formal complaint. In particular, every investigating judge, on learning from a detainee’s statement that he or she has been subjected to torture, should initiate promptly an effective investigation into the matter; (j)In the light of what appears to be a culture of impunity, investigation of cases of torture should be prompt, impartial and effective. It should include a medical examination carried out in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; (k)Law enforcement personnel should have at their disposal all modern methods and equipment, as well as the professional training necessary to conduct effective and fair criminal investigations; (l)All law enforcement officers should be trained in international standards relating to the custody and treatment of detainees, in accordance with the Convention and the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; (m)Medical examinations of all detainees should be carried out in all prisons within 24 hours of the time of detention. Any medical examination of a person detained should contain: (i) an account of statements made by the person concerned which are relevant to the medical examination, including his/her description of his/her state of health and any allegations of ill treatment; (ii) an account of objective medical findings based on a thorough examination; (iii) the doctor’s conclusion in the light of (i) and (ii). Furthermore, the result of the medical examination referred to above should be made available to the prisoner concerned and his/her lawyer; (n)Judges, prosecutors and lawyers should be made fully aware of Serbia and Montenegro’s international obligations in the field of human rights, particularly those enshrined in the Convention; (o)The State party should establish an independent mechanism to investigate all human rights abuses, whenever they occur, that are brought to its attention; (p)Persons alleged to have committed acts of torture should be suspended from official duties during the investigation of such allegations. Those found guilty should be dismissed from public service in addition to any other punishment; (q)Measures should be taken to ensure that the mechanisms of internal oversight of the police function promptly and are independent and effective. An independent complaints authority with wide powers of oversight and intervention should be created within the police force; (r)The State party should devise appropriate schemes for the compensation of victims of torture; (s)The State party should develop official programmes for the rehabilitation of victims of torture. Thus far, only private institutions have developed such programmes;