CPT: 12TH GENERAL REPORT B. 39 Statement by the Committee of Ministers' Chairperson following the CPT's public statement on Chechnya Strasbourg, 18.07.2001 - Liechtenstein Foreign Minister, Ernst Walch, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, today expressed serious concern about the issues contained in a public statement published by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on 10 July 2001 - concerning the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Chechen Republic. Minister Walch urged the Russian authorities to co-operate fully with the CPT, as regards both the issues referred to in the public statement and all other aspects of the Committee's activities concerning the Chechen Republic. He recalled that the Committee of Ministers had recently underlined the importance of the ongoing statewide co-operation between the CPT and the Russian Federation which is an important means of promoting the reform of the criminal justice and the penitentiary system in the country. In this context, he applauded the activities so far undertaken by the CPT in relation to the Chechen Republic and encouraged the Committee to pursue those activities. The Chairman explained that the CPT's mandate covered all matters having a bearing on the protection of persons deprived of their liberty from torture and other forms of ill-treatment. This includes the activities of authorities empowered to conduct official investigations and bring criminal charges in cases involving allegations of ill-treatment. He also underlined that the CPT's mandate and powers extend to treatment received in all possible kinds of places where persons are deprived of their liberty by public authority, no matter how makeshift those places may be and regardless of the length of deprivation of liberty. The Minister recalled that no circumstances could justify the resort by a public authority to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Authorities were under an obligation to take effective counter-measures - including thorough investigations, whenever evidence of such acts by public officials comes to light.