A/76/168 Ensuring accessibility 73. Special measures should be taken to make accountability processes effectively accessible for persons with particular needs or in particular situations of vulnerability, such as women and children, persons with psychosocial or learning disabilities, persons experiencing mental distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and any persons facing difficulty in understanding, speaking, reading or writing in the official language(s) employed in the proceedings. Access to rehabilitation should be provided at the earliest possible opportunity, including as a means of facilitating the participation of victims in accountability processes. Additionally, States should take measures to alleviate the stigmatization and marginalization faced by many victims of torture and ill-treatment, including asylum-seekers, drug users and people living with HIV. 61 Holding States and individuals responsible for accountability deficits 74. State failure to establish appropriate accountability mechanisms or to take reasonable and adequate measures to secure accountability for torture and ill treatment violates the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment and should be condemned accordingly on the national, regional and international planes. Moreover, it should be recalled that widespread or systematic breaches of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment not only engage the legal responsibility of States but may also give rise to individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes before international and national courts. Failure to take the measures required by law to ensure accountability for torture and ill-treatment gives rise to legal responsibility, including not only State responsibility but also, in some circumstances, individual responsibility under international criminal law. __________________ 61 21-09914 See also A/73/207, paras. 60–74 and 77. 23/23