A/HRC/40/59/Add.3 of various civil society actors, medical doctors and media personnel in the monitoring of detention centres and in fact-finding regarding potential violations. 72. It is the Special Rapporteur’s considered view that regular monitoring of places of detention is one of the most effective measures to prevent torture. The Special Rapporteur calls on the new Ombudsperson, who had been recently appointed at the time of the visit, to maintain and further strengthen best practice in that respect, and to facilitate the accreditation of civil society actors previously engaged in monitoring tasks. He commends the work of non-governmental actors involved in the monitoring process and encourages them to continue to strengthen their activity throughout Ukraine. 73. The mechanism’s preventive activities should be strengthened by ensuring a structural unit for data collection and investigating allegations of torture and ill-treatment. Last but not least, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the mechanism’s recommendations, it is crucial that all ministries concerned establish an internal follow-up mechanism dedicated to that purpose. F. Persons in vulnerable situations 74. The Special Rapporteur regrets to report that he has received consistent information pointing to a pattern of violent attacks and apparent hate crimes against various segments of the Ukrainian population, including minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. 75. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned about the reported rising frequency of violent attacks against the Roma minority in Ukraine. The attacks are reported to be hate motivated and to involve physical aggression, destruction of property, harassment and intimidation against Roma people, including against women and children. According to information received, such incidents had taken place in different parts of Ukraine, in particular in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Ternopil and Lviv, and had not triggered any attempt by law enforcement officials to protect the alleged victims. These violent incidents are allegedly orchestrated and perpetrated mainly by extreme right-wing groups with clearly expressed intentions to target Roma communities on the basis of their ethnicity. 76. In the light of those allegations, the Special Rapporteur calls on the Ukrainian authorities, and in particular the regional and local police, to take effective measures to protect the members of the Roma minority and to punish the perpetrators. III. Situation in territories controlled by de facto authorities A. Legal and procedural safeguards 77. Regardless of the precise legal qualification of the Ukrainian armed conflict, the Special Rapporteur recalls that all parties to the conflict, including the de facto authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk, have direct international obligations under applicable international humanitarian law, including the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment. Common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 prohibits “cruel treatment and torture” and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment” of all persons who are not or are no longer taking an active part in hostilities, including those deprived of their liberty. In addition, “torture or inhuman treatment” and “wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health” constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and are war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 78. The Special Rapporteur regrets that many of the interlocutors he requested to meet with in both Donetsk and Luhansk were not available for a meeting, despite repeated and timely requests. He was therefore not able to conduct a proper and meaningful assessment of the specific legal and procedural safeguards against torture in place or to evaluate the effectiveness of their implementation. 79. However, it is with the utmost concern that the Special Rapporteur takes note of recent amendments to the martial law imposed by the de facto authorities in both areas, which have 12