arrangements for appointing members of the Supreme Court and the powers of the Court of Constitutional Guarantees; the prohibition against women signing contracts to work abroad; and the denial of the right to vote to members of the police and the armed forces. It was also felt that legislative provisions should be adopted providing for compensation to victims of torture or arbitrary arrest or detention. Lastly, the hope was expressed that more forceful measures would be taken on behalf of the indigenous population. 262. The representative of the State party thanked the members of the Committee for the dialogue they had carried on with the Ecuadorian delegation. It was a fact that Ecuador not only faced problems of very long standing but also an extremely difficult economic situation. No progress in solving those problems would have any meaning, however, if the rights and dignity of the individual were not respected. 263. In concluding the consideration of the third periodic report of Ecuador, the Chairman thanked the delegation for submitting a candid report that showed, without covering up cases of torture, disappearances and ill-treatment that still existed in the country, that the Government was concerned to make progress in promoting human rights. ALGERIA 264. The Committee considered the initial report of Algeria (CCPE/C/62/Add.l) at its 1125th, 1128th and 1129th meetings, held on 25 and 27 March 1992 (CCPE/C/SE.1125, SR.1128 and SR.1129). (For the composition of the delegation, see annex VIII,) 265. The report was introduced by the representative of the State party who explained that, following the adoption of the Constitution on 23 February 1989, a process of wide-ranging reform had been launched aiming at establishing democratic institutions based on a multiparty system, freedom of the press, the separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Those structural reforms had been given expression at the international level through the country's accession to the principal international human rights instruments. Since the submission of the report, the protection of human rights had been strengthened by the creation of a national human rights monitoring body. However, the disparity between the rapid progress of legislation and the actual situation in the country had led to a crisis and the authorities had been obliged recently to take steps to restore the authority of the State. 266. Members of the Committee welcomed Algeria's accession to the Covenant and expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the Government of Algeria. Noting that the report had been prepared in April 1991 and therefore did not cover recent events, they stressed the need for more information about developments during the period subsequent to the report's issuance, particularly events relating to both the state of emergency declared in June 1991 and the current state of emergency. 267. With regard to the constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant was implemented, members of the Committee wished to receive further information on the status of the Covenant in domestic law, in particular in -61-