Policy recommendations States should ensure that national laws prohibit practices that violate the prohibition of torture and fair trial rights, and provide for safeguards that uphold and protect these rights. It is recommended that states provide for: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The prohibition of confessions as the sole evidence of guilt; Laws and measures designed to uphold and protect the presumption of innocence, the right to remain silent and the notification about rights; Access to independent legal counsel, immediately after the moment of the deprivation of liberty, and before and during any questioning by authorities;68 and free legal assistance for those unable to cover the cost of legal counsel for themselves;69 The prohibition of incommunicado and secret detention; The legal requirement for, at a minimum, audio recording, and preferably video-recording of all police interviews; and An independent law enforcement oversight mechanism. Practical recommendations It is recommended that states: 7. 8. 68 69  nsure that any person arrested or detained must, at the time of depriE vation of liberty and before any questioning, be informed of their rights and ways to avail themselves of those rights; Apply specific provisions for particular groups that are more vulnerable during questioning, including children, women and girls, persons with disabilities, persons belonging to minorities or indigenous groups and non-nationals, including migrants (regardless of migration status), refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons; Compelling circumstances denying access to counsel must be strictly defined in national law and correspond to situations in which there is an urgent need to avert serious adverse consequences for the life, liberty or physical integrity of persons, or where immediate action by investigators is imperative to prevent the destruction or alteration of essential evidence or to prevent interference with witnesses. Even then, the questioning of suspects without a lawyer must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards, limited to what is strictly necessary to achieve its singular purpose (i.e., obtaining information to address the exigent circumstances) and cannot unduly prejudice the rights of the defence (European directive 2013/48/EU). See e.g. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, A/71/298 (2016), para. 71; see also UNODC, United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, June 2013. UNODC, ibid. 25