CCPR/C/79/Add.74 page 3 11. The Committee welcomes the information that torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions are punishable offences in Bolivia. It also welcomes the information that military tribunals have no jurisdiction except within the military institution and that cases of human rights violations by members of the army and the security forces fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts. 12. The Committee further welcomes the fact that the number of persons being held in pretrial detention has significantly decreased. 13. The Committee notes the penal reforms that have abolished the discrimination against the Amazon Indians where it was considered that they were not criminally responsible by mere reason of their Indian origin. It also welcomes the reforms that have introduced legislation which allows the indigenous populations to receive education in their mother tongues, and the enactment of measures which permit the Indian communities to maintain their traditional means of livelihood. D. Principal subjects of concern 14. The Committee is concerned that the State party’s legislation in respect of the state of siege does not comply with the provisions of the Covenant. There is no constitutional provision which prohibits the derogation of the relevant rights of the Covenant and the expression “conmocíon interior” (“internal disturbance”) is much too wide to fall within the scope of article 4 of the Covenant. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that minimum guarantees were not complied with during the state of siege declared in 1995. 15. The Committee is concerned that the current legislation for combating impunity has proven to be ineffective in the identification, trial and punishment of those responsible for human rights violations, and in the payment of compensation to the victims. It also notes that members of the armed forces and other government officials who were involved in the most serious human rights violations have not always been dismissed, and continue to take advantage of their positions, thus reinforcing impunity within the State party. It is also concerned at the delays and failures of the process of law and at the non-compliance by the police with United Nations minimum standards. 16. The Committee notes with concern that members of various social sectors, particularly human rights activists and members of trade unions, are subject to intimidation, thus facing serious obstacles in the legitimate exercise of their rights. 17. The Committee is concerned that national laws in conflict with the Covenant remain on the books, in particular the Coca and Controlled Substances Law (Law No. 1008). The Committee is particularly concerned that articles 86 and 116 of this law remove the investigating process from judicial control, that the right to bail is severely restricted, that articles 74 and 125 deny the right of detainees who are ill to be treated with humanity, and that other provisions undermine the presumption of innocence (arts. 82 and 117), the