A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 594. The Rapporteur however regrets that no further information has been provided regarding the whereabouts of the named individuals as well as any measures potentially taken to ensure their physical and psychological integrity. 595. He would furthermore like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to paragraph 27 of General Assembly Resolution 68/156, which, “[r]eminds all States that prolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment, and urges all States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and dignity of the person and to ensure that secret places of detention and interrogation are abolished.” 596. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and is therefore of the view that the Government of the UAE, by subjecting Ms. Asma Khalifa al-Suwaidi, Ms. Meriem Khalifa al-Suwaidi and Ms. AlYazyeh Khalifa alSuwaidi to incommunicado detention, has violated their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. (c) JUA 02/04/2015 Case No. ARE 2/2015 State reply: 30/04/2015 Allegations concerning the arbitrary arrest, detention, and conviction of Mr. Osama al-Najjar, as well as his torture and ill-treatment while in detention. 597. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the United Arab Emirates for its reply, dated 30 April 2015, to the present communication. 598. The Rapporteur however finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns, legal obligations, and questions raised in the initial communication, which prompts him to infer that the Government fails to fully and expeditiously cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. 599. The Rapporteur would like to remind the Government of the absolute and nonderogable prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment as codified in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), to which UAE acceded on 19 July 2012. 600. The Rapporteur would also like to draw the attention of the Government to articles 12 and 7 of the CAT, which require the competent authorities to undertake a prompt and impartial investigation wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed, and to prosecute suspected perpetrators of torture. 601. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above. The Rapporteur is therefore of the view that the Government of the United Arab Emirates, by facilitating the torture and ill-treatment of Mr. al-Najjar while in detention, and by failing to investigate, prosecute, and punish such acts, has violated Mr. al Najjar’s right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, as recognised under international customary law and codified, inter alia, in the CAT. (d) JUA 27/08/2015 Case No: ARE 3/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegation concerning the arbitrary and incommunicado detention, torture or mistreatment of Emirati national, Mr. Nasser bin Ghaith. 602. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the United Arab Emirates has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council Resolution 25/13. 100