A/HRC/19/61/Add.1 while detained. Independent and democratic oversight of the security services is necessary to avoid a relapse into past practices of torture and ill-treatment. A thorough and fair performance review for every law-enforcement agent should be conducted with a view to vetting and disqualifying those known to have committed abuses and to restoring the public confidence and trust in security forces. IV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 89. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the willingness of the interim Government to cooperate with his mandate with a view to eradicating torture and ill-treatment and to ensuring that the roadmap to justice is laid down at the earliest possible stage following the downfall of the Ben Ali regime. The current transition represents an historic opportunity to begin to establish accountability, to ensure reparations to victims and to institutionalize safeguards. 90. The ratification of several international human rights instruments, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the initiative of the Ministry of Justice to develop a draft legal framework for the harmonization of national legislation with international human rights standards are a manifestation of good will and commitment to reform the legal system of Tunisia. 91. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the expressed intention of the Ministry of Justice to amend the definition of torture contained in the Criminal Code in order to bring it into full conformity with article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the intention of the authorities to provide detainees with immediate access to a lawyer during the first hours of detention and police custody. He calls on the Government to ensure that the absolute prohibition of torture is included in the Constitution, both in its preamble and as a binding provision. 92. Given the lack of effective safeguards during arrest and interrogation, persons deprived of their liberty are extremely vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur concludes that although the practice of torture and ill-treatment has decreased, incidents of torture and ill-treatment continue to occur during arrest, while in custody and during interrogations. 93. The Special Rapporteur notes that conditions in certain wings of the Bizerte prison amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. In the Kasserine prison and in the Bouchoucha detention centre for inmates in garde à vue, the conditions in general appeared to be in line with international standards. However, the limited access to medical, dental and psychiatric services remains of concern in practically all places visited. 94. The Special Rapporteur observes that although the legislation provides for various complaints mechanisms, essentially from within the judicial apparatus (A/HRC/16/51/Add.2, para. 27), the fact remains that these mechanisms are marred by allegations of a lack of independence and ineffectiveness and that the complaints are essentially addressed to the same body alleged to have perpetrated the illtreatment. Such circumstances jeopardize their public credibility, making them de facto non-functional. In addition, the Special Rapporteur notes that, in practice, access to the sentence enforcement judge is either not granted or substantially 18