CAT/C/LVA/CO/2 page 2 c) 2005; and The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, on 6 June d) The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, on 25 May 2004. 4. The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts at the State level to reform its legislation, policies and procedures 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 Procedure Law which entered into force on 1 October 2005; b) The Law on the Procedure for Holding Apprehended Persons which entered into force on 21 October 2005; c) July 2006; The Law on Procedure of Detention on Remand which entered into force on 18 d) The amendments to the Medical Treatment Law which entered into force on 29 March 2007, introducing a procedure of judicial review of compulsory voluntary placement of patients in the psychiatric hospitals and their subsequent treatment; e) The establishment of the new Ombudsman institution on 1 January 2007, replacing the Latvian National Human Rights Office; f) The establishment of the State Legal Aid Administration in 2006 and the enactment on 17 March 2005 of the Law On State-Guaranteed Free Legal Aid; g) The Concept on the Development of Penitentiaries which was adopted by Cabinet Decision No. 280 of 2 May 2005 to provide all inmates with treatment that would comply with the necessary standards; h) The adoption in 2004 of the State Programme on the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings (2004-2008); and i) The adoption on 5 December 2003 of the Professional Ethics and Conduct Code of the State Police Personnel. C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Definition of torture 5. Notwithstanding the State party’s assertion that under the Latvian Criminal Code all acts that may be described as “torture” within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention are punishable, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not incorporated into domestic law the crime of torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention (arts. 1 and 4). The State party should incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture and adopt a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture, inter alia, by alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims, and the

Select target paragraph3