Budapest 1994 (Decisions: VIII. The Human Dimension) 20. The participating States strongly condemn all forms of torture as one of the most flagrant violations of human rights and human dignity. They commit themselves to strive for its elimination. They recognize the importance in this respect of international norms as laid down in international treaties on human rights, in particular the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. They also recognize the importance of national legislation aimed at eradicating torture. They commit themselves to inquire into all alleged cases of torture and to prosecute offenders. They also commit themselves to include in their educational and training programmes for law enforcement and police forces specific provisions with a view to eradicating torture. They consider that an exchange of information on this problem is an essential prerequisite. The participating States should have the possibility to obtain such information. The CSCE should in this context also draw on the experience of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruelly Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment established by the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations and make use of information provided by NGOs. Istanbul 1999 (Charter for European Security: III. Our Common Response) 21. We are committed to eradicating torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the OSCE area. To this end, we will promote legislation to provide procedural and substantive safeguards and remedies to combat these practices. We will assist victims and co-operate with relevant international organizations and non-governmental organizations, as appropriate. Ljubljana 2005 (Decisions: Decision No. 12/05 Upholding Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Criminal Justice Systems) The Ministerial Council (…) Reaffirming the rule of law commitments contained in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the 1989 Concluding Document of Vienna, the 1990 Copenhagen Document, and the 1991 Moscow Document, those undertaken at the 1994 OSCE Summit in Budapest, and other relevant OSCE commitments and recalling relevant international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, (…) Underlining the need to speak out publicly against torture, and recalling that all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and stressing the need to strengthen procedural safeguards to prevent torture as well as to prosecute its perpetrators, thereby preventing impunity for acts of torture, and calling upon participating States to give early consideration to signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, 55