A/64/215 58. Category C contains some of the most important human rights, absolute rights that fully apply to every human being without any restriction. They include, first of all, the right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the right not to be subjected to slavery, the slave trade and servitude (art. 8, paras. 1 and 2), the prohibition of imprisonment merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation (art. 11), the prohibition of applying a criminal law or penalty retroactively (art. 15), the right to recognition as a person before the law (art. 16) and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 18, para. 1). In addition to their absolute nature, these rights are also non-derogable even in times of armed conflict and other emergencies (art. 4, para. 2). Certain other rights, albeit not absolute, shall also be enjoyed by detainees in full equality with other human beings. They include the right to life (art. 6), the right to equal access to justice and a fair trial (art. 14), the right to equality and non-discrimination (art. 2, para. 1, and arts. 3 and 26, as well as art. 2, para. 2, and art. 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and the right to an effective remedy for victims of human rights violations (art. 2, para. 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), including the right of victims of torture and ill-treatment to complain without fear of reprisals, to have their case promptly and impartially examined by competent authorities (art. 13 of the Convention against Torture) and to obtain adequate reparation for the harm suffered (art. 14 of the Convention). 59. Many of these rights, which detainees should enjoy in full equality with other human beings, are routinely violated in a great number of places of detention. In addition to torture, corporal punishment and other forms of ill-treatment, detainees may be subjected to brainwashing and similar forms of “re-education” in violation of their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Sometimes, conditions of detention are so bad that detainees starve to death, commit suicide or die of preventable diseases as a result of the denial or lack of medical treatment. Detainees may also be killed in the course of prison riots or as a result of inter-prisoner violence. States have a particular responsibility to protect and fulfil the right to life of detainees through positive measures and should carry out a thorough and independent forensic examination of every individual case of death of a detainee. In practice, such independent investigations are the exception rather than the rule, and prison officials usually provide “death by natural causes” as the official reason for almost all cases of death in custody, even if it is fairly obvious that the person concerned was beaten to death by prison guards or fellow detainees. 60. Key in this regard is the right to an effective remedy in case of a violation of any human right and the right of equal access to justice by independent and impartial courts. In practice, this right is not available or affordable for most detainees whom the Special Rapporteur has interviewed around the world. Many detainees never see a judge, cannot afford a lawyer, are afraid of reprisals or simply have no trust in the administration of justice, which often is only available to rich people. The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor recently established that four billion people, i.e., almost two thirds of the world population, are effectively denied access to a well-functioning justice system. 13 The great majority of the 9.8 million detainees worldwide are among those who have no effective access to justice and the rule of law. __________________ 13 09-43792 Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor and United Nations Development Programme, Making the Law Work for Everyone, vol. I (New York, 2008). 17