visitation based on such assurances and the respective governments’ compliance with the assurances. To the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights • Continue to reaffirm that the state practice of seeking diplomatic assurances that a person will not be tortured or subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment undermines the nonrefoulement obligation enshrined in article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. To Bodies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: To the Chairman-in-Office • Put forward for adoption at the 2005 Ministerial Conference a declaration reaffirming the absolute nature of the obligation under international law not to expel, return, extradite, or otherwise transfer any person to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture or prohibited ill-treatment, consistent with the importance attached in the OSCE Copenhagen commitments (Article 16) to accession to and respect for the Convention against Torture. • Actively promote the recognition that diplomatic assurances against torture and illtreatment are unreliable and ineffective safeguards against torture and prohibited illtreatment, and press OSCE participating states to give up their use. To the Secretary General and to the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) • Task the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE Secretariat and the Antiterrorism Coordinator at the ODIHR to monitor adherence by OSCE participating states to their nonrefoulement obligations, including any instances of recourse to diplomatic assurances, which should be reported to the Chairman-in-Office. • Ensure that technical assistance to OSCE participating states in support of drafting anti-terrorism legislation and strengthening existing legislation directs states away from the use of diplomatic assurances against torture and ill-treatment. Emphasize through assistance in support of implementation of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, U.N. conventions and protocols the absolute nature of the nonrefoulement obligation. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D) 90