CAT/C/CR/32/7 page 2 (b) The establishment in March 2001 of the German Institute for Human Rights, a focal point of whose competence is monitoring of the domestic human rights situation; (c) The State party’s reaffirmation of its commitment to the absolute character of the ban on exposure to torture, including through refoulement. In this respect, the Committee takes note of the recent institution of criminal proceedings against a senior Frankfurt police officer on charges of threatened use of torture. In addition, it welcomes the State party’s confirmation that the ban on refoulement contained in article 3 of the Convention is applicable to all cases, including where the asylum-seeker has been denied refugee status on security grounds; (d) The State party’s commitment to external scrutiny of its record under the Convention, expressed by its acceptance of the Committee’s competence to hear complaints under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention; (e) The significant improvements that have been made over the reporting period (i) to the Frankfurt airport refugee facilities; (ii) to the applicable refugee determination processes conducted there; and (iii) to the methods exercised in forcibly returning failed asylum-seekers by air; (f) The State party’s passage of legislation to implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which comprehensively codifies crimes against international law, including torture in the context of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity; (g) The consideration by the State party of issues of torture and other conduct contrary to the Convention that is committed by non-State actors, when relevant under the Convention, in asylum and removal proceedings, and the fact that according to federal jurisprudence individual claims of mistreatment may also be made where a person originates from a “safe” third country; (h) The State party’s initiative to establish the mandate of a Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children. C. Subjects of concern 4. The Committee expresses its concern at: (a) The length of time taken to resolve criminal proceedings arising from allegations of ill-treatment of persons in the custody of law enforcement authorities, including in particular serious cases where death has resulted, such as that of Amir Ageeb, who died in May 1999; (b) Some allegations that criminal charges have been brought, for punitive or dissuasive purposes, by law enforcement authorities against persons who have brought charges of ill-treatment against law enforcement authorities;

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