CAT/C/LKA/CO/5 (b) Provide detailed information on Mr. Mendis’s role and responsibilities with regard to allegations of torture while he was Deputy Inspector General of the Criminal Investigation Department. Ensuring accountability for past cases of torture and disappearance 15. While welcoming the State party’s commitment to address the widespread violations that occurred during and immediately after the internal conflict, indicated by its cosponsorship of Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, the Committee notes that the State party has only just completed a process of national consultations and has not yet established institutions called for in that resolution, particularly a judicial mechanism with a special counsel, as well as a commission for truth, justice, reconciliation and non-recurrence and an office for reparations. The Committee also notes with regret that the State party has not yet concluded its ongoing investigations into certain emblematic cases of violations committed during the conflict period, including the killings of the “Trincomalee Five” students and the killing of 17 aid workers of Action against Hunger, both of which occurred in 2006. Additionally, while noting that severe punishments have been imposed in the Vishwamadu case, concluded in October 2015, the Committee regrets the failure of the State party to provide the requested information on the progress of the 39 investigations it has reportedly initiated with regard to the acts of rape and sexual violence allegedly committed by security forces in the aftermath of the conflict. In this regard, the Committee shares the view expressed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights during his visit to the State party in February 2016 that relevant criminal investigations currently pending before the courts should not be put on hold while the transitional justice mechanisms are developed (arts. 2, 12 and 13). 16. The State party should expedite the establishment of the mechanisms called for in Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 and, in particular, a judicial mechanism with a special counsel to investigate allegations of torture, enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations. The mechanism should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality at the national and international levels. The State party should also map all pending criminal investigations related to serious human rights violations perpetrated during the course of the conflict and its aftermath, as well as the findings of all presidential commissions that documented such cases, and ensure that prompt, thorough and independent investigations are conducted to establish the truth and to ensure that those responsible, directly or as commanders or superiors, are held to account. In this regard, the Committee recalls that, as stated in its general comment No. 3 (2012) on the implementation of article 14, amnesties for the crime of torture are incompatible with the obligations of States parties under the Convention. The State party should ensure that its ongoing investigations into emblematic cases of violations during the conflict and post-conflict eras are concluded as expeditiously as possible and result in prosecutions of the perpetrators. Reprisals against victims and witnesses in cases of torture 17. The Committee is concerned about information indicating that victims are reluctant to bring allegations of torture to the police because they fear retaliation. In this regard, the Committee regrets the lack of statistical data on the number of complaints received by the State party pertaining to reprisals against victims of or witnesses to torture and the outcome of investigations into those complaints. While expressing appreciation for the adoption of the Victim and Witness Protection Act No. 4 of 2015, the Committee is concerned at the information provided by the delegation that the Victim and Witness Protection Division foreseen by the law is to be located within the institutional hierarchy of the police, despite 5