violation of the Covenant/ members wondered how and in how many instances that exemption had been granted. Members also wished to know about the impact of the presidential decree of 1990/ which restricted the options to challenges to acts performed in an official capacity/ as well as about presidential immunity from prosecution. More information was also requested on the new Penal Code/ which did not seem to be applicable to the armed forces and police; enforced conscription; prison conditions; the guarantees and protection given to prosecutors during the performance of their functions; and the impact on rights guaranteed under article 14 of the Covenant applying the concept of collective responsibility in the emergency zones. Given that some 75 per cent of the prison population in Peru consisted of people who had not yet been tried, among whom there were several hundred female prisoners with over 100 dependent children, members asked whether it was the view of the Government that there was no need in practice to take account of the provisions of article 9 of the Covenant. 311. In reply to the questions raised by members/ the representative of the State party said that disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture, or any other form of physical violence, were offences under Peruvian law. The Government was aware of the need to give priority attention to children and the adoption of relevant policies and decrees had been accelerated. The rights of the unborn child were protected by article 2 of the Constitution and abortion was punishable under the Penal Code, except when carried out on the recommendation of a panel of doctors. Infant mortality had dropped substantially with the aid of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Statements obtained through the use of violence were not admissible and the law on habeas corpus and amparo contained provisions to ensure that illtreatment was not used to extract confessions. Ho one could be arrested without a written court order from a judge, or from the police in cases of flaaraitte delicto, and those arrested had to be informed immediately and in writing of the reasons for their detention. Such persons had the right to communicate with and be advised by an attorney of their choice from the time they were charged or arrested. Ho one could be held incommunicado except where the investigation of a crime made it indispensable. In all cases, the arrested persons -would be brought before court within 24 hours or within the time needed to arrive at the court. An aggrieved detainee could invoke the remedies of habeas corpus and amparo. 312. In connection with a directive which, according to Amnesty International, "purported to permit troops to carry out killings without a trace", the representative stressed that the directive was not government policy and not part of the legislative corpus of Peru. With regard to enforced recruitment, the representative attributed guilt to the terrorist group, the Shining Path, which frequently obliged minors to join its ranks. However, there was considerable interest in forming urban patrols for protection on a block-byblock basis. Military service was governed by the Compulsory Military Service Act, which provided for military training for all eligible men and women. The Government was concerned about disappearances and was conducting investigations through prosecutors and Bed Cross officials. A special Senate Commission on violence and pacification had been established and was drafting amendments to the law governing the state of emergency. Efforts were also being made to remecty shortcomings in prisons and to improve basic facilities such as meals. All children above three years of age hact recently been removed from prison institutions. -73-