E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.2 page 17 discrimination and exclusion they do not make complaints to the criminal justice system as they have no faith that they will obtain justice. In this context, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the recent revision of the Criminal Code to include, among the motives for considering a crime as torture, “discrimination of any kind”, in line with the definition of torture set out in article 1 of the Convention. IV. CONCLUSIONS 53. Spain is a country that has agreed to cooperate with all existing international and regional monitoring procedures and mechanisms for the protection of human rights, notably in the area of prevention and suppression of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Thus, Spain is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto relating to communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant. Spain has also ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and has made the declaration under article 22 of the Convention which provides for the examination of communications from individuals claiming to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention. Furthermore, Spain is among those Member States that have issued standing invitations to all thematic special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights, including the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, to undertake missions to the country (the total number of countries having issued such standing invitations was 48 at the time of writing this report). The willingness of Spain to open itself to international procedures of scrutiny and accountability is highly commendable. 54. At the regional level, Spain is a party to the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and has thus accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, which has the competence to take decisions on petitions relating to alleged violations of the Convention. Moreover, Spain is a party to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which provides for a system of visits by the Committee established under the Convention (CPT) so as to examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. 55. The above-mentioned worldwide and regional instruments and mechanisms for adjudication, investigation, inspection, reporting and advice, whose pre-eminent aim, insofar as torture is concerned, is to suppress and to prevent this practice, are mutually reinforcing and complementary. The effectiveness of all these instruments and mechanisms depends largely on the degree of their impact on domestic practices and conditions. It is indeed important that public authorities and important sectors of civil society be aware of international human rights standards and procedures as a matter of public interest and public debate. Such public interest and public debate are not sufficiently developed in most, if not all, countries of the world. 56. Many countries face special conditions and serious difficulties of a socio-political and economic nature that adversely affect the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The present report, based on a one-week mission to Spain, is not the proper place or context to trace historical, cultural and geographical factors that have a bearing