68 Part III: Paths forward in legal proceedings, and such proceedings often are insufficient and fall short of international standards. The previous pages highlight the significant achievements resulting from the IRCT and its partners’ work to promote the Istanbul Protocol. However, they also illustrate how effective documentation and legal pursuit encounter several dilemmas and challenges, among them the following: a. The need to bring evidence forward versus the lack of protection. The fear factor is probably the greatest stumbling block to preventing torture. Many countries lack sufficient safeguards and effective laws offering protection to survivors, witnesses and professionals involved in legal proceedings relating to torture, or these measures are not implemented in practice. Doctors, lawyers and other persons who involve themselves in torturerelated proceedings thus have good reason to fear for their own safety, as well as that of their family and friends. This is not least because torture is by definition committed or tolerated by the state and is thus a politically highly charged subject. Too often, pressure is placed on doctors and lawyers to dismiss action in torture-related cases. Further, survivors and their families are often reluctant to take action for fear of retribution. Sometimes the official form to file a complaint must be collected at the local police station where the alleged perpetrator may be working. Or the official medical examination is carried out by doctors appointed by the police. And alleged perpetrators who are being prosecuted are only rarely subjected to disciplinary sanctions while the case is on-going and thus continue their work, free to harass victims and their families as well as the doctors and lawyers bringing the case forward. As outlined by Dr Hernan Reyes in his article, detainees face special risks. b. Institutionalisation versus independence of documentation. Ultimately, the objective of enhancing documentation of torture is to promote states’ compliance with their human rights obligations. The necessity to develop the Istanbul Protocol derived from the need