E/CN.4/2006/6 page 10 27. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that the conclusion of a visit marks the beginning of a long-term process of cooperation with the Government with the common aim of eradicating torture and ill-treatment, and he reiterates his commitment to support government efforts to this end. III. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO DIPLOMATIC ASSURANCES 28. In his first report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur draws attention to the importance of maintaining the focus on and remaining vigilant against continuing practices that erode the absolute prohibition of torture in the context of counter-terrorism measures. In particular, he refers to his interim report to the General Assembly, in which he examined the use by States of diplomatic assurances (or otherwise referred to as promises, agreements, guarantees, contacts, memorandums of understanding, etc.) to transfer or propose to return alleged terrorist suspects to countries where they may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment. In this section, the Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight some recent activities and developments in this area. 29. During the year, the Special Rapporteur held direct discussions with Governments on the issue. On 12 May 2005, he was invited to informal consultations with officials of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, concerning diplomatic assurances, particularly in relation to the Agiza case before the United Nations Committee against Torture. On 24 October 2005, he was invited to meet with the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in response to concerns raised in relation to memorandums of understanding concluded by the Government with Jordan and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the aftermath of the bombings in London on 7 July. The Special Rapporteur and the Government exchanged views and agreed to continue to maintain a dialogue on the issue. On the same day, he met informally with several members of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of the United Kingdom Parliament to discuss the practice of diplomatic assurances, the use of evidence obtained under torture, and other issues related to his mandate. 30. On 7 December 2005, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the Special Rapporteur participated in a discussion on the development of guidelines for diplomatic assurances with the Group of Specialists on Human Rights and the Fight against Terrorism of the Steering Committee for Human Rights. 31. In his presentation the Special Rapporteur outlined his main concerns on the issue: (a) The principle of non-refoulement (CAT, art. 3; ECHR, art. 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), art. 7) is an absolute obligation deriving from the absolute and non-derogable nature of the prohibition of torture; (b) Diplomatic assurances are sought from countries with a proven record of systematic torture, i.e. the very fact that such diplomatic assurances are sought is an acknowledgement that the requested State, in the opinion of the requesting State, is practising torture. In most cases, those individuals in relation to whom diplomatic assurances are being sought belong to a high-risk group (“Islamic fundamentalists”);