prohibit foreigners from living in certain communes. While foreigners were not eligible to vote or to stand for election, it was intended to amend the Constitution to enable European Community citizens residing in Belgium to vote in local and European elections. A Eoyal Commission on Immigration Policy had been established in 1989 to investigate the problems of migrant workers, to identify appropriate measures to promote mutual acceptance between immigrants and indigenous communities and to create a harmonious multicultural society. In its first two reports the Royal Commission had proposed a wide range of measures, inducting granting Belgian nationality, by applying the principle of jus soli, to second-generation immigrants whose parents had been legal residents in Belgium for more than 10 years. 406. Regarding minorities and intercommunal cooperation, the representative said there were legal and constitutional mechanisms to foster cooperation between communities and regions, as well as to protect minority languages in various regions. In order to ensure linguistic equality among judges, the language in which they earned their diplomas determined the linguistic group to which they belonged* 407. Since the Covenant expressly prohibited discrimination on specific grounds, a prohibition that was implicit in Belgian law, there was no need to amend the Constitution/ which addressed the guestion of the equality of all citizens only in general terms. The Constitution allowed the three communities to conclude treaties independently in areas of their own competence, such as cultural exchange or education, but the question of whether economic and social regions had such competence was currently under debate within the European Community. Prostitution was considered a legitimate occupation when it was practised by women who were properly innoculated and were of age. However, it was felt that the State should discourage the practice, and special measures would be taken to deal with the problem of trafficking in women and prostitution, to which immigrant women were particularly vulnerable. Right; to life,, liberty and security of the person and treatment of prisoners and other detainees 408. In connection with those issues, members wished to be informed about the current situation in respect of the death penalty and the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol; rules anct regulations governing the use of firearms by the police and security forces; details concerning the Protection of Young Persons Act 1965; detention in institutions other than prisons and for reasons other than crimes; the maximum length of pretrial detention; remedies available to persons claiming wrongful detention and their effectiveness; measures to prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees; procedures for the review of prison conditions; and compliance with United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the availability of relevant regulations and directives to prisoners in all official languages. In addition, members wished to know whether the Government was addressing the affirmative aspects of the right to life, such as the right to health, the elimination of epidemics and pollution-related issues; what was Belgium's position regarding organ transplants from aborted foetuses; whether detainees had the right to ask for a lawyer as soon as they were arrested; whether medical examinations were carried out by independent doctors; how solitary confinement was practised; and whether those held in -97-