CAT/C/POL/CO/5-6 Complaints procedure 11. The Committee is concerned that the amendments of 7 January 2012 to the Criminal Enforcement Code establish strict criteria for the substantiation of complaints from persons deprived of their liberty. As a result, most of the complaints are considered unfounded and unjustified and, in practice, the right to complain is not therefore guaranteed. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that the right of detainees to complain can be fully exercised, including by: (a) Doing away with criteria for the substantiation of complaints of torture and ill-treatment; (b) Providing persons deprived of their liberty with legal representation to file complaints; and (c) Ensuring that all complaints are promptly, effectively and impartially investigated. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party collect statistical data, disaggregated by crime, ethnicity, age and sex, on complaints concerning torture and ill-treatment allegedly committed by prisons authorities and law enforcement officials, and on the related investigations, prosecutions, and penal or disciplinary sanctions. Non-refoulement and extradition 12. The Committee is concerned that foreigners can be expelled from the State party without having their expulsion decision reviewed by an independent and impartial mechanism. In addition, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not been respecting the principle of non-refoulement as it has sometimes refused to recognize a foreigner’s refugee status as the sole reason to refuse extradition to a country where his or her life or personal integrity would be threatened (arts. 3 and 16). The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that it complies fully with its obligations under article 3 of the Convention and that individuals under the State party’s jurisdiction receive appropriate consideration by the competent authorities and are guaranteed fair treatment at all stages of proceedings, including an opportunity for effective and impartial review by an independent decision mechanism on expulsion, return or extradition, with suspensive effect. It also recommends that the State party fulfil its non-refoulement obligations and guarantee the right to appeal the issuance of an extradition warrant where there are substantial grounds for believing that a person would be at risk of being subjected to torture. Protection of asylum seekers 13. The Committee welcomes the proposed amendments to the Aliens Act of 2003, which introduce alternatives to detention and give more categories of persons the right to family reunification. However, it remains concerned that under the current legislation asylum seekers, including children, are detained in guarded centres in prison-like conditions prior to expulsion. It is also concerned that insufficient legal assistance is provided to asylum seekers, especially those in detention centres (arts. 3, 10 and 11). The Committee recommends that the State Party refrain from detaining asylumseekers, including children, and guarantee them — including those who may face detention — access to independent, qualified and free legal advice and representation, in order to ensure that the protection needs of asylum seekers, refugees and other persons in need of international protection are effectively recognized. 14. The Committee is concerned about the lack of a mechanism in the State party to identify vulnerable asylum seekers who are victims of torture and the insufficient provision 4