E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.4 page 12 mechanisms available to respond to allegations. In Mongolia, the view of the Special Rapporteur is that the public perception of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is generally narrow, and that there is an implicit cultural acceptance of a degree of violence against alleged criminal suspects and convicts. This situation, combined with a criminal justice system which relies heavily on obtaining confessions for instituting prosecutions, makes the risk of torture and illtreatment very real. 37. Indeed, based on interviews with detainees and allegations brought to his attention during the course of the visit, some of which are included in the appendix, as well as his meetings with senior government officials, the NHRCM and defence lawyers, information received from NGOs and independent forensic medical evidence, the Special Rapporteur concludes that torture and illtreatment by law enforcement officials persists, particularly in police stations, pre-trial detention facilities, and in the strict and special prison regimes, particularly on death row. 38. The methods of torture described in the vast majority of cases that the Special Rapporteur came across involved beatings with fists and truncheons to extract confessions. Indeed, the Special Rapporteur was informed that just prior to the visit, Munkhbayar Baatar (whose case is included in the appendix) was severely beaten in custody and subsequently died as a result of his injuries. Other methods cited included: “flying to space” (where a person is made to stand on a stool, which is kicked away from underneath), needles pushed under fingernails, electroshock (i.e. wires attached to a ceiling light bulb socket and connected to a puddle of water), burning with cigarettes, prolonged periods of being handcuffed and shackled (in one case three years), coercing confessions by putting suspects in cells with convicted prisoners who are encouraged by guards to be abusive, and detaining suspects in distant facilities which, given the geography of the country, is intended to isolate detainees from lawyers and families. Respect for basic safeguards for detainees (see para. 20, above), such as notification of lawyers and families, were routinely disregarded. Lack of investigations and impunity 39. According to the Special Rapporteur, impunity is the principal cause of torture and illtreatment, and the unwillingness or inability to tackle it effectively will perpetuate the culture of impunity in Mongolia. The absence in the Criminal Code of a definition of torture in line with the Convention and the lack of effective mechanisms to receive and investigate complaints provide shelter to perpetrators. And even without such a definition, a clear indicator of impunity is the absence of any effective investigations by the procuracy, nor have any law enforcement officials been convicted to date for torture related offences. 40. The Special Rapporteur observed, in speaking with victims, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, lawyers and members of the judiciary, a basic lack of awareness and understanding of the international standards relating to the prohibition of torture, which by itself serves to limit inquiries into allegations of torture. Indeed, other than the public inquiry on torture initiated by NHRCM, nothing has been done by the Government to publicize or raise awareness of the Convention among the public, law enforcement and legal professionals or the judiciary. Though a two-day human rights training component has recently been introduced in the police academy curricula, it is reported that three quarters of the existing corps have no human rights training.