Treatment of prisoners and other detainees and liberty and security of the person 237. With regard to that issue, members of the Committee wished to receive information on the results of the campaign waged to make the armed forces and the police aware o£ the obligation to respect the human rights of persons under arrest or investigation; on recent allegations of torture and illtreatment of persons arrested or detained on criminal charges; and on the nature of complaints received and any action taken thereon by the Court of Constitutional Guarantees in the period under review. They also asked how many persons, if any, had been tried and sentenced under the provisions of articles 187, 204, 205 and 206 of the Penal Code during the reporting period. With reference to persons having been held unlawfully because the time-limits laid down by law had expired, members of the Committee wished to receive information on the number of detainees involved, the length of their unlawful detention, and on the provisions that had been made for compensation. They also wished to receive additional information on a case of arbitrary or unlawful detention mentioned in the report. 238. In addition, in the light of a report by the International Labour Organisation <IL0) concerning the application of ILO Conventions in Ecuador, clarification was sought of the possibility for members of the armed forces to undertake activities within the framework of development programmes involving both military and civilian personnel. Information was also requested concerning legislative provisions that seemed to authorize incommunicado detention during the first 24 hours of detention and on regulations governing work by prisoners. 239. In his reply, the representative of the State party said that^the campaign aimed at promoting human rights among the general public, and in particular the members of the armed forces and the police, had yielded verypositive results. The Ecuadorian Human Rights Commission had taken an active part in that campaign and basic materials, such as a manual on human rights for use by police officers, had been published and widely disseminated. Furthermore, nearly two thirds of the prison guards had taken a course on how to respect the dignity of prisoners. 240. Concerning allegations of torture and ill-treatment, the representative emphasized that the authorities had duly examined all cases submitted to them, particularly those submitted by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Eights and by non-governmental organizations. The cases of 270 police officers who had allegedly tortured detainees had been referred to the competent authorities. A new department had also been set up under the Ministry of Justice and had made a study of the complaints of abuse of powers and corruption by members of the police force, which were expected to lead to administrative penalties. 241. With regard to remand in custody and detention pending trial, the representative pointed out that no one could be detained for more than 24 hours without being brought before a judge. There had, however, been countless cases of arbitrary and unduly prolonged detention. A new department had been set up within the framework of the Ministry of Justice in order to put an end to abuses in that area. Following the establishment of that department there had been a sharp decline in the number of persons detained -55-