A/HRC/34/54/Add.2
mechanism, as contemplated by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture, to undertake scheduled and unannounced prison visits to effectively monitor
the legal status of detainees and conditions of detention of all detainees at all locations
where persons are deprived of their liberty;
(e)
Strengthen the powers of the National Human Rights Commission to
ensure its independence and impartiality, and provide it with a robust mandate and
sufficient financial resources to serve as an additional channel for complaints of
torture and ill-treatment (while not replacing the responsibilities of prosecutors and
judges);
(f)
Implement the detailed recommendations of the Working Group on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances regarding the functioning of the Office on
Missing Persons (see A/HRC/33/51/Add.2, paras. 79-80);
(g)
Shut down the Poonthotam rehabilitation centre programme and release
unconditionally those who remain in the centre or any other rehabilitation centre;
(h)
Charge detainees whose cases remain pending under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act or, in the absence of sufficient evidence, release them immediately;
(i)
Prioritize demilitarization and dismantle the structures that are still in
place to conduct surveillance, and build up trust in the community as a step towards
reconciliation;
(j)
Strengthen the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and
Witnesses Act No. 4 of 2015 to make the National Authority set up under the Act an
independent and accountable agency not managed only by the police but subject to
judicial oversight, and ensure that its jurisdiction extends to the protection of victims
of trafficking who, like victims of torture and sexual violence, also have a real fear of
reprisals.
120. Regarding the judiciary, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the
Government:
(a)
Reform the judiciary by referring to the mission report of the Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers 12 to address deficient
procedures that continue to undermine any effective monitoring and documentation
of and accountability for torture and ill-treatment through prompt, thorough and
impartial investigations;
(b)
Uphold its obligation to genuinely investigate, prosecute and punish the
numerous acts of torture that occurred in the past that are well documented, as there
is no statute of limitations for such crimes under international law;
(c)
Ensure that investigations into recent cases are launched ex officio
without any need for formal complaints by prosecutors whenever there are reasonable
grounds to suspect torture or ill-treatment;
(d)
Ensure that allegations of torture and ill-treatment are admitted at all
stages of judicial proceedings;
(e)
Hold perpetrators, including superiors who may have tolerated or
condoned the act, criminally responsible for torture or other ill-treatment and impose
adequate disciplinary measures;
12
22
See footnote 1.
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