CAT/C/LBN/CO/1 administrative detention centre for irregular migrants in the Adlieh district of Beirut (see A/69/44, annex XIII, para. 24), the Committee considers that detention of irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers pending deportation should be reduced and applied as an exceptional measure only (arts. 11 and 16). 55. The State party should refrain from detaining refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants for prolonged periods, use detention as a measure of last resort only and for as short a period as possible and promote alternatives to detention. Trafficking 56. While welcoming the adoption of Law No. 164 of 2011 on combating trafficking in persons, the Committee is concerned at the situation of women and girls, particularly those from South and Southeast Asia and East and West Africa, many of whom are forced into domestic servitude. According to the information before the Committee, the sponsorship (kafala) system creates a situation of vulnerability which favours abusive and exploitative work relationships that can lead to human trafficking in domestic work. The Committee also notes with concern that Syrian refugees in Lebanon appear to be at particular risk of sex trafficking and forced labour, mainly due to the restrictions on Syrian refugees’ access to the Lebanese labour market and the strict enforcement of visa and resident permits (arts. 2, 10, 12-14 and 16). 57. The State party should: (a) Intensify its efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, including by implementing effectively the 2011 anti-trafficking legislation and by providing protection to victims; (b) Ensure that cases of human trafficking are thoroughly investigated, perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, punished with appropriate sanctions, and the victims adequately compensated. Gender-based violence 58. The Committee is concerned that under article 522 of the Criminal Code a person accused of rape, kidnapping or statutory rape may avoid prosecution or conviction if he marries the victim (arts. 2 and 16). 59. The State party should fully repeal article 522 of the Criminal Code, ensure that perpetrators of rape do no escape punishment by marrying their victims and guarantee that all cases of violence against women are thoroughly investigated, that the perpetrators are prosecuted and that the victims obtain redress, including fair and adequate compensation. Follow-up procedure 60. The Committee requests the State party to provide, by 12 May 2018, information on follow-up to the Committee’s recommendations on the definition and criminalization of torture, fundamental legal safeguards, the national human rights institution and the national preventive mechanism, and the internal prison complaint system (see paras. 13, 17, 29 and 43 above). In that context, the State party is invited to inform the Committee about its plans for implementing, within the coming reporting period, some or all of the remaining recommendations in the concluding observations. Other issues 61. The Committee encourages the State party to consider making the declaration under article 22 of the Convention recognizing the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to its jurisdiction. 62. The Committee invites the State party to authorize the publication of the report on the 2010 visit to Lebanon of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and the Government’s response to the Subcommittee’s recommendations. 10