CAT/C/BIH/CO/1 page 2 B. Positive aspects 4. The Committee notes that the State party has rectified the major international treaties protecting the human rights of its citizens, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as well as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 5. The Committee further notes the accession to or ratification of regional instruments, among them the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the European Convention on the Extradition and Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters. 6. The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts at the State level to reform its legislation in order to ensure better protection of human rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular: (a) The Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, which entered into force in March 2003; (b) The Law on Protection of Witnesses under Threat or Vulnerable Witnesses, which entered into force in March 2003; (c) The Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum, which entered into force in October 2003; (d) The State Law on Missing Persons, which entered into force in November 2004. 7. The Committee further welcomes the establishment of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Special War Crimes Chamber of the State Court and the Special War Crimes Department of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were inaugurated in March 2005 and paved the way for the transfer of cases from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to the domestic courts. The Committee also welcomes the establishment of the Srebrenica Commission to investigate the events leading to the Srebrenica massacre, to inform families of the fate of their missing relatives, and to make the results of the investigations public through the publication of the report. 8. The Committee takes note with interest of the statement by the State party’s representative that although there was no integral structure in place for the protection of victims of torture and sexual violence during the period of conflict, i.e. 1992-1995, a systematic way of extending such protection, such as an umbrella law at the State level, would be initiated in 2006.

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