42. Mrs. ILIOPOULOS-STRANGAS (Country Rapporteur) read out the following text:
* The summary record of the closed meeting, held from 11.50 a.m. to 12.35 p.m., appears as document CAT/C/SR.249/Add.1.
The Committee is concerned that, in its report, the State party invokes a discrepancy between international and internal law to justify granting impunity for acts of torture committed following the enactment of the amnesty laws.
(a) The definition of torture set forth in article 1 of the Convention and establishment of torture as a specific offence in accordance with article 4 of the Convention; which would permit, inter alia, the achievement of universal jurisdiction as provided for in articles 5 et seq. of the Convention.
43. The CHAIRMAN invited the delegation of Senegal to comment on the Committee's conclusions and recommendations.
44. Mr. DIOP (Senegal) thanked the Committee for giving the Government of Senegal the opportunity to express its views and for its suggestions, which would help the country to adopt, and improve, its legal provisions in the ever-changing field of human rights. Senegal solemnly reaffirmed that it was committed to the Committee's work and intended to honour its commitments, in the light of the Committee's conclusions and in view of primacy of international law over internal law. Senegal, which was keen to modernize its legislation, had already started work on several reforms which tallied with the Committee's recommendations in several important areas, including: the definition of torture, its characterization in criminal law of the conduct of investigations and procedures governing police custody, on which guidelines had just been adopted.
45. The CHAIRMAN thanked the delegation of Senegal for its cooperation and frankness.
46. The delegation of Senegal withdrew.