to implement this specific provision of the Constitution was being drafted at present. The Covenant had been publicized by the media and the provisions of the Optional Protocol had been published in private newspapers. 567. Victims of past violations of human rights were given redress under a law adopted in 1990. An estimated 30,000 people had been unlawfully repressed during the 1930s and the question of compensation for the victims and their families was the subject of legislation currently under consideration in Parliament, Previously, no compensation had been extended largely owing to the economic situation in the country. The office of the Public Procurator still existed under the new legal system, although his responsibilities had already changed considerably. The draft of a new law regulating the competence of the Procurator was at present under consideration in Parliament. 568. The representative pointed out that discrimination against women was prohibited by article 14 of the Constitution and that equal rights for women in Mongolia were ensured. A number of women had been recently elected to the Great Khural, serving as an indication that political rights were being exercised. Women accounted for 43 per cent of the economically active population. Attempts to deprive women of equal rights were specifically regulated by article 142 of the Penal Code. Additionally, women claiming to be victims of discrimination were able to file complaints in court. With regard to safeguarding the rights of aliens in Mongolia, bilateral treaties had been concluded by the Government with a number of countries, under the terms of which legal assistance was extended to their nationals in matters concerning civil, penal and family law. The agreements facilitated the exchange of information and provided guarantees for the protection of witnesses and the rights of the defence. 569. Martial law could be imposed in cases of external threat of war and a state of emergency could be declared by the Minister of Justice in cases such as a natural disaster* A draft law on states of emergency was currently being prepared by the Government with a view to establishing procedures and responsibilities for the eventual suspension of certain constitutional provisions in such circumstances. At the present time, there was no law providing for the derogation of the rights of citizens. Right to life, treatment of prisoners and other detainees, and liberty and security of the person 570. With regard to those issues, members of the Committee wished to know what was meant by the statement in paragraph 14 of the report that the death penalty had been established as "an alternative to imprisonment for varying terms, not as the primary but as a secondary option"; how often and for what crimes had the death penalty been imposed and carried out since the consideration of Mongolia's second periodic report; and whether any consideration had been given to the abolition of the death penalty and accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant. They requested further information on action taken to make the Corrective-Labour Code more humane and to bring the penitentiary system in line with the commitments entered into by Mongolia under international conventions and agreements on human rights and concerning the legal value of testimony extracted through violence or insulting treatment. Members of the Committee also wished to know the rules and regulations governing the use of firearms by the police and -136-