CAT/C/NLD/CO/5-6
(b)
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on 28 September 2010;
(c)
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance, on 23 March 2011.
6.
The Committee welcomes the enactment of the following legislation:
(a)
in 2011;
The adoption of new legislation to criminalize human trafficking in Curaçao,
(b)
The entry into force of the new Penal Code of Curaçao, on 15 November
2011;
(c)
The adoption of the New Criminal Code in Aruba, in April 2012, including
the new juvenile justice system providing for educational measures and treatment of
juveniles.
7.
The Committee also welcomes the adoption of the following administrative and
other measures:
(a)
The establishment in Aruba of an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary
Task Force against the trafficking and smuggling of persons in 2007 and the subsequent
adoption of a comprehensive counter-trafficking action plan;
(b)
The revision of Police Order on Detainees in Aruba, in February 2012,
incorporating the legally prescribed hours of access by a duty lawyer in order to guarantee
the right of consultation with a lawyer even before the first police interview, in accordance
with the Salduz judgement (no. 36391/02) of the European Court of Human Rights;
(c)
The adoption of an instruction for the use of force for prison personnel in
Aruba in 2012;
(d)
The extension in 2012 of the mandate of the National Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children to cover all forms of
sexual violence against children in the European part of the Netherlands;
(e)
The designation of the national preventive mechanism which has been
mandated to serve as a national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, although the Committee expresses some reservations at the lack of its
independence, the way it is established and the fact that the mandate is limited to the
European part of the Netherlands which may result in differential treatment of some
categories of the Dutch nationals;
(f)
The steps taken by the Government to improve the quality of its refugee
status determination procedure, inter alia, through constant attention and monitoring of the
system;
(g)
The establishment of a centre for substance abuse addicts as part of the
criminal justice system in Aruba;
(h)
The improvement of detention conditions through renovations and
expansions of several detention and correctional facilities in Curaçao.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Enforcement of prohibition of torture and ill-treatment
8.
While noting the availability of data on investigations and prosecutions into alleged
offences of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers in Curaçao, the Committee
regrets the absence of clarity as well as specific information as to which allegations and
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