E/CN.4/1988/17/Add.1 page 4 12. The Government of Colombia is to be commended for the interest it has shown in strengthening the protection of human rights in a period when national stability is seriously threatened. It deserves the support of all other States in reaching the goals it has set itself. In a country where human rights are violated in a horrifying way by groups of a non-Statal nature, it is vitally necessary that the authorities in fighting this evil keep strictly to the rules and act in accordance with the law and that breaches of these rules be severely punished. Only in this way can respect for the rule of law be restored. Argentina 13. The Special Rapporteur had consultations with the Government of Argentina and with some non-governmental organizations on 14 and 15 December. It is all too well-known that Argentina has gone through a long and dark period of seven years when disappearances, torture and killings became endemic. It was pointed out to the Special Rapporteur that it took more than four years before the general public became aware of the terrifying dimensions of the human rights violations. According to the authorities, the general revulsion prevalent throughout the country about what happened during that period is the best and most effective guarantee that a recurrence of such human rights violations will not be tolerated. The military take-over of 1976 and all that it entailed was the direct consequence of the civil strife and domestic chaos which existed in the country during the previous years. The sad experiences of the last decade have also been a maturing process and have contributed to a greater sense of responsibility among the various political parties and groups. It was also pointed out to the Special Rapporteur that the excesses which occurred during the 1970s and the early 1980s had their roots in the harsh treatment which had already been applied to detainees for a very long time. For decades it had been common practice to extort confessions under duress during criminal investigations. When a suspect who appeared before an examining magistrate (juez de instruccion) contended that his confession had been obtained by torture, the law provided that the burden of proof lay with the suspect. Such a legal system is highly conducive to the practice of torture and, consequently, this legal provision has now been abolished. The law now states that only a statement made before the examining magistrate has evidential value. This provision and the replacement of the previous largely written criminal procedure by a preponderantly oral procedure has made the use of torture as a means of gathering evidence less probable. Moreover, torture now carries the same penalty in the Penal Code as homicide. 14. The Special Rapporteur was told by the Chief of the Federal Police that no specific new training programmes for the police force or new investigation techniques had been introduced. During instruction and daily practice the main emphasis was laid on the need to create mutual trust between the police and citizens. Policemen should be aware that they were there to serve the public not to be their masters. Moreover, it must be made crystal clear that any abuse of power by the police would be severely punished. 15. The Special Rapporteur was impressed by the firm decision of the authorities not to allow any recurrence of past practices and their trust in the maturity of the population. He feels, however, that the continued awareness that respect for human rights should be given the highest priority could be strengthened by introducing training programmes for security personnel. Such programmes should emphasize how to treat people entrusted to