E/CN.4/1989/15 page 41 2. Evaluation and recommendations 200. Many of the legal provisions mentioned above are not new. In spite of the fact that these legal safeguards against the practice of torture in themselves are highly satisfactory, in actual practice they are not respected by the authorities. According to reports received by the Special Rapporteur, in many cases the 48-hour rule was not respected nor was the detainee's right of prompt access to legal counsel. As a result, incommunicado detention, which might easily lead to torture, was quite common. Relatives of a detainee were often not told about his or her whereabouts, in spite of their legal right to receive that information, and in spite of the fact that they had made requests to the authorities. Detainees reportedly were often held for interrogation in locations not mentioned in the Penal Administration Act, which exhaustively enumerates the places where unconvicted detainees may be held. Complaints about torture were not properly investigated, according to those reports, and hardly ever led to prosecution or punishment. 201. The present Government of the Republic of Korea has unequivocally stated that it will improve the human rights situation in the country and will comply with the legal rules. On 18 January 1988, the Director-General of the National Police Headquarters instructed the police, "to respect the human rights of criminal suspects as prescribed in the Code of Criminal Procedure" when carrying out investigations and stressed the importance of education and training. The Special Rapporteur was informed by the present Director-General of the Investigations Bureau of the National Police Headquarters that several courses were given in the field of investigation techniques, with great emphasis on the prevention of human rights violations. Complaints about torture or ill-treatment were investigated with all due attention: he mentioned that during the past year, 160 cases had been reported, of which 57 had been found admissible. He referred to two recent cases of alleged torture inflicted on common criminals, where the police officers responsible had been relieved of their posts and had been held for further investigation. In that respect, it was also stressed that not only the police officers actually involved in torture practices were punished, but that in various cases measures had also been taken against their superiors. 202. The authorities of the Republic of Korea have indicated to the Special Rapporteur that it is the firm intention of the Government to become a party to the United Nations International Covenants on Human Rights and to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, preferably without any reservations, andthat it envisages recognizing the right of individual complaint under the latter Convention. It was submitted that the approval of the National Assembly would be sought for the ratification of those instruments during the second half of 1988. 203. If the Government indeed continues its instructions to the authorities throughout the country to comply strictly with the provisions of the national legislation of the Republic of Korea safeguarding the rights of citizens, if these national legal provisions are strengthened by the acceptance of obligations under international law and if violations of these obligations are severely punished, there are good chances that the evil of torture will be effectively eradicated in the Republic of Korea.