Concluding observations by individual members 420. Members of the Committee commended the State party on its excellent report, which contained detailed information on the law and practice relating to the implementation of the Covenant's provisions. They also expressed appreciation to the representative of the State party for his efforts to respond fully to the Committee's questions, praised the competence of the delegation and considered that the dialogue had been fruitful and constructive. 421. While recognizing the existence of a sound mechanism for the protection of human rights and the difficulties experienced by Belgium, members voiced some continuing concerns in such areas as the jurisdictional problem between the national and community governments; discrimination against aliens and immigrants; the lack of an overall judicial authority to deal with preventive detention; the practice of detention by the police; and the cultural bias against women. They also urged the State party to bring domestic law into line with the provisions of the Covenant, in particular articles 14, 21 and 26, and to review the need for its reservations to the Covenant. 422. The representative of the State party said he would report the various comments of the Committee to his Government and hoped that the next periodic report would show that the Committee's expectations had been met. 423. In concluding the consideration of the second periodic report of Belgium, the Chairman expressed satisfaction over the human rights situation in Belgium. Comments of the Committee 424. As indicated in paragraph 45 above, the Committee, at its 1123rd meeting, held on 24 March 1992, decided that henceforth, at the conclusion of the consideration of a State party's report, it would adopt comments reflecting the views of the Committee as a whole. 425. In accordance with that decision, at its 1148th meeting, held on 10 April 1992, the Committee adopted the following comments. Introduction 426. The Committee commends the State party on its excellent report, which contains detailed information on law and practice relating to the implementation of the Covenant's provisions subsequent to the consideration of the initial report. The Committee appreciates the comprehensiveness of the report, which is in conformity with the Committee's guidelines. In particular, the Committee is grateful for both the oral and written responses provided by the State party representative. The Committee also appreciates the high competence of the delegation and considers that the dialogue with the State party was fruitful and constructive. -X01-