A/68/44 C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Definition and criminalization of torture (7) The Committee notes with concern that, 6 years after establishing a national commission to update its legislation and 25 years after ratifying the Convention, the State party has yet to adopt criminal legislation explicitly defining and criminalizing torture (arts. 1 and 4). The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary measures to incorporate in the Criminal Code all the elements of the definition of torture contained in article 1 of the Convention, as well as provisions criminalizing and penalizing acts of torture with penalties commensurate with their gravity. Legislative reforms (8) While noting the adoption of the draft Criminal Code by the Council of Ministers in November 2012, the Committee remains concerned, as it noted in its previous concluding observations in 2006, that legislative reforms, in particular the adoption of the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure, have not yet been completed (arts. 1, 2 and 4). The State party should expedite the process of legislative reform and take the necessary measures to promulgate and adopt the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure as soon as possible in order to remedy the present legal vacuum surrounding torture. Allegations of torture and ill-treatment (9) The Committee is concerned by the allegations of torture and ill-treatment in detention, in particular of persons held in custody who are detained on the premises of investigative units or in police stations, gendarmeries, offices of the National Intelligence Agency, barracks of the presidential guard or other places of detention, including unofficial places of detention. It is particularly concerned by the conclusion in the report of the National Human Rights Commission that “inhuman and degrading acts of physical and mental violence have been committed against detainees” and allegedly against persons linked to the attempted coup in 2009 who were held on the premises of the National Intelligence Agency and in other places of detention. The Committee is also concerned that the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the inadmissibility of confessions obtained under torture, is still not in force (arts. 2, 11, 15 and 16). The State party should: (a) Give clear instructions to members of the security forces (police and gendarmerie) regarding the absolute prohibition and criminalization of torture and the fact that such acts will not be tolerated and that perpetrators will be prosecuted; (b) Take effective measures without delay to ensure that in-depth, prompt, independent and impartial investigations are conducted into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and that the perpetrators of such acts are brought before the courts, which should punish them with appropriate penalties under the relevant criminal legislation, and that the outcomes are publicized; (c) Expedite the adoption by Parliament of the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure and ensure that confessions obtained under torture and the subsequent proceedings are declared null and void, and raise awareness among judges of the inadmissibility of statements obtained under torture and of the obligation to initiate investigations when allegations of torture are brought to their attention. 86 GE.13-46043