CAT/OP/BRA/3 of information and a diligent and documented follow-up procedure. The absence of prompt, impartial and thorough investigations and prosecution for violent acts in facilities where individuals are deprived of their liberty can encourage a culture of violence and impunity, erode confidence in the rule of law and diminish detainees’ chances for rehabilitation and reintegration into society. 36. The Subcommittee stresses that historical and material challenges do not diminish the urgency of changing attitudes regarding the use of torture by State agents, such that individuals in the custody of the State are protected from mental and physical torture. The Subcommittee further stresses that the threshold for what constitutes torture is lower when individuals are deprived of their liberty. 37. Accordingly, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party’s authorities redouble their efforts to combat ill-treatment by fully implementing the system for investigation of allegations of ill-treatment and torture; by combating impunity; by promoting professional ethics through ongoing training of staff at detention facilities; and by regularly reminding staff that detainees must be treated equally and respectfully and that deviation from these principles compromises the main duty of correctional officers, which is to correct behaviour and not to exact punishment. 38. The Subcommittee also wishes to stress that separation of pretrial detainees from convicted individuals is required under international law.6 Accordingly, it urges the State party to ensure such separation in detention facilities throughout the country. 39. The Subcommittee received reports that individuals visiting inmates are subjected to invasive body-cavity searches that, despite being banned in several states, continue to occur despite studies indicating that contraband is found in only a very small number of searches and despite the availability of alternatives such as electronic scanning devices. A bill banning abusive searches in all prison facilities across the country was approved unanimously in the Senate and in the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities of the lower house of Congress. 40. The Subcommittee recommends that this bill, now numbered 7764/2014 before the Chamber of Deputies, be approved, signed into law and implemented throughout the country. C. Self-governance and delegation in places of detention 41. The Subcommittee is deeply concerned at the lack of control the State has over penitentiary conditions. The Subcommittee observed strong structures of self-governance, with public authorities delegating tasks to inmates. In certain states, inmates known as key holders had the ability to open and close the entrance gates to separate wings of the prison and the doors to individual cells and monitored and maintained de facto control over their pavilions, tasking other inmates with the responsibility of cleaning and preparing and distributing food. Disturbingly, this devolution of authority also enabled inmates, including key holders, to discipline and punish less powerful inmates. 42. The Subcommittee received claims that some inmates with power are assigned to more desirable areas of detention and have access to other benefits, whereas inmates lacking authority are deprived of benefits, such as access to visitors, and experience harsher 6 10 See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 10 (2) (a); United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), rule 8; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas; Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, principle 8.