• Reaffirm in express terms that the absolute prohibition against torture and the prohibition against refoulement include the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. • Reject any attempt to establish minimum standards for the use of diplomatic assurances against risk of torture and ill-treatment as incompatible with the obligation under article 3 of the Convention against Torture. Emphasize the inherently unreliable nature of diplomatic assurances and the fact that they are an ineffective safeguard against torture and ill-treatment in the circumstances described in the second recommendation of this report. • Require that states’ periodic reports to the Committee include detailed information about all cases in which requests for diplomatic assurances against the risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment have been sought or secured in respect of a person subject to transfer. To the High Commissioner on Human Rights • Establish as a matter of urgency an international, independent inquiry into all aspects of the cases of Ahmed Agiza and Mohammed al-Zari, including investigating the respective roles and conduct of the Swedish, United States and Egyptian governments. Conduct the inquiry in a comprehensive manner and make the findings of the inquiry public. To the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment • Reaffirm in all the rapporteur’s activities and related documents that diplomatic assurances in relation to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment are inherently unreliable and their use by states undermines the nonrefoulement obligation enshrined in article 3 of the Convention against Torture. • Collect information in the course of relevant country visits on the situation of persons threatened with return or actually returned on the basis of diplomatic assurances against torture and ill-treatment. 87 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D)