Rights Watch regarding the men’s treatment and Egypt’s obligation under the Convention against Torture to commence an investigation into their torture allegations have gone unanswered.172 The Swedish government has denied all responsibility for having abdicated on its nonrefoulement obligation and for putting the men directly in harm’s way. In May 2004, Human Rights Watch called for an international inquiry under the auspices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in order to “ensure…the necessary independence, expertise, and transparency.”173 The involvement of the three governments in the men’s transfers raised serious concerns that only an international inquiry could get to the root of all three states’ actions, including, but not limited to, the men’s allegations of torture and ill-treatment. The Swedish government has said that it would cooperate with such an inquiry, but in a letter to Human Rights Watch conditioned such cooperation on Egypt’s participation and the approval of both men.174 In December 2004, however, Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds stated that “The Swedish government would welcome further efforts by the U.N. system to investigate the matter and stands ready to fully cooperate in such endeavors.”175 Torture Despite Assurances Despite Egypt’s well-documented record of systematic torture and failure to comply with its legally-binding international human rights treaty obligations, the Swedish government continues to assert that “[t]here were no substantial grounds for believing that they [Agiza and al-Zari] would be subjected to torture.”176 The government points to both the written assurances and the fact that Egypt subsequently agreed to postreturn monitoring as evidence to support that belief. In this case, however, the inherent lack of reliability of assurances from Egypt, the general nature of the assurances themselves,177 and the inadequate post-return monitoring mechanism are all indicative of 172 Human Rights Watch letter to President Hosni Mubarak, July 26, 2004, copy on file with Human Rights Watch. 173 Human Rights Watch Press Release, “Sweden: Torture Inquiry Must be under U.N. Auspices: Independent Panel must Probe Abuses by Sweden, Egypt, and U.S. Operatives,” May 27, 2004 [online] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/27/sweden8621.htm (retrieved March 3, 2005). 174 Letter to Human Rights Watch from Hans Dahlgren, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, September 20, 2004, copy on file with Human Rights Watch. 175 Freivalds Speech, December 1, 2004. 176 Ibid. 177 In response to a December 12, 2001 letter from the Swedish government asking for assurances that the men would “not be subjected to inhuman treatment or punishment of any kind,” not subjected to the death penalty, and afforded fair trials, the Egyptian authorities responded: We, herewith, assert our full understanding to all the items of this memoire, concerning the way of treatment upon repatriate [sic] from your government, with full respect to their persons and human rights. This will be done according to what the Egyptian constitution, and law stipulates. Copies of letters on file with Human Rights Watch. 59 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D)