E/CN.4/2006/6 page 4 Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, Manfred Nowak, who was appointed on 1 December 2004, hereby submits his first report to the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with resolution 2005/39. 2. Section I summarizes the activities of the Special Rapporteur in 2005, with a particular focus on the period since the submission of his interim report to the General Assembly (A/60/316). In section II, the Special Rapporteur discusses the methods of work related to country visits, and section III contains a report on recent developments related to diplomatic assurances. Section IV examines the distinction between torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 3. The summary of communications sent by the Special Rapporteur from 1 December 2004 to 15 December 2005, and the replies received thereto from Governments by 31 December 2005, as well as a number of country-specific observations, are found in addendum 1 to the report. Addendum 2 contains a summary of the information provided by Governments and non-governmental organizations on implementation of the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations following country visits. Addendums 3 to 6 are the reports on the country visits to Georgia, Mongolia, Nepal and China, respectively. Document E/CN.4/2006/120 contains the joint report prepared with the Special Rapporteurs on the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the independence of judges and lawyers, and freedom of religion or belief, and the Chairperson of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the human rights situation of detainees held at the United States of America Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. I. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR 4. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the Commission to his first report to the General Assembly (ibid., paras. 12-17), in which he described his activities in 2005 since the submission of the report of his predecessor to the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights. 5. The Special Rapporteur would like to inform the Commission about the activities he has undertaken since his appointment on 1 December 2004. Regarding country visits, the Special Rapporteur recalls that in the first half of 2005, he undertook visits to Georgia, including the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in February and to Mongolia in June. In Georgia, he concluded that torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials still exists, and that conditions of detention are, in general, poor. At the same time, he welcomed a series of positive developments since the Rose Revolution of November 2003 aimed at eradicating torture, and expressed his appreciation to the Government for having complied with many of his recommendations, including ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in June 2005. In Mongolia, the Special Rapporteur concluded that torture persists, particularly in police stations and pretrial detention facilities. He expressed concern at the secrecy surrounding the application of the death penalty and the cruel treatment of prisoners on death row. Similarly, the conditions of prisoners serving 30-year terms in isolation amounted to inhuman treatment. At the same time, he was encouraged by the activities of the National Human Rights Commission, in particular its critical public inquiry into torture allegations.