CAT/C/DNK/CO/6-7
(c)
The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings, on 19 September 2007.
6.
The Committee notes with appreciation the legislative measures taken by the State
party, including:
(a)
The adoption of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Military Criminal
Code lifting the statute of limitations on violations committed by the use of torture,
including attempts and complicity, in criminal cases;
(b)
The designation in 2007 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman as a national
preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture;
(c)
Amendment to the Ombudsman Act extending the jurisdiction of the
Parliamentary Ombudsman to institutions responsible for the care of children, and all
private institutions hosting persons deprived of their liberty or where individuals are placed
in pursuance of a decision or recommendation made by a public authority, or with its
consent or approval;
(d)
The Adoption of a new Administration of Justice Act and Criminal Code for
Greenland in 2008.
7.
The Committee welcomes the numerous administrative and other measures taken in
areas of relevance to the Convention against Torture, including:
(a)
The implementation, since 2002, of successive national action plans to
combat human trafficking;
(b)
The strengthening of the capacity of the Danish Institute for Human Rights
and the extension of its mandate to cover Greenland;
(c)
The issuance by the Danish Armed Forces of a new directive on detainees,
complementing mission specific directives, with a view to improving the handling of
detainees in military operations abroad.
8.
The Committee notes with appreciation the implementation by the State party of
recommendations made in cases considered under the complaints procedure.
9.
The Committee welcomes the positive implementation of previous
recommendations (CAT/C/DNK/CO/5) under the follow-up procedure, which has led to:
(a)
The revision and improvement of educational training programmes for the
police on the use of force;
(b)
The adoption of guidelines on the use of administrative detentions under the
Police Act and the management of large crowds;
(c)
The entry into operation of the Independent Police Complaints Authority in
2012 and the decision to affix individual identity numbers on police uniforms as of
February 2016.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Torture as an offence
10.
While welcoming the incorporation of the definition of torture into Section 157a of
the Penal Code and Section 27A of the Military Criminal Code, the Committee regrets the
decision of the State party only to qualify torture as an aggravating circumstance for the
determination of a sentence rather than establish it as a distinct offence (arts. 1 and 4).
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