The Uzbek government on 19 March issued a statement promising that the country\'s authorities will continue their efforts to end the torture of people in detention, Interfax reported the same day. The statement came in response to a draft report submitted to the UN Commission on Human Rights by Theo van Boven, the UN Special Rapporteur Against Torture. According to the report, the Uzbek statement acknowledged that \"gross violations of human rights are committed in prisons\" in Uzbekistan. It said the authorities are trying to put a stop to such violations, and drew attention to the 2002 convictions of four law enforcement officials for torturing detainees. That trial has been hailed by international human rights groups as an encouraging first step in the Uzbek campaign against torture. (Interfax)