E/CN.4/1993/26 page 6 I. MANDATE AND METHODS OF WORK 6. On 3 March 1992 the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1992/43 by which it decided to establish an open-ended intersessional working group in order to elaborate a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, designed to establish a preventive system of visits to places of detention. It may be recalled that the Special Rapporteur in previous reports had advocated the institution of such a system of periodic visits to places of detention. 7. On 28 February 1992 during the debate by the Commission at its forty-eighth session on draft resolution E/CN.4/1992/L.41, by which the Special Rapporteur's mandate was to be extended for three years, the representative of the Philippines suggested an extension of the mandate for only one year. The delegate felt that the issue of torture was already covered by so many mechanisms that the Commission needed time to reflect whether the mandate of the Special Rapporteur had become redundant. 8. Although the Commission did not adopt this suggestion and by resolution E/CN.4/1992/32 extended the mandate for three years, the issue of overlapping mechanisms seemed to be a matter of concern to more than one delegation. The Special Rapporteur, therefore, deems it useful to give his views on the character and functions of the various mechanisms. He hopes that these views may dispel any fears that the scarce human and logistical resources of the Centre for Human Rights are not used in a balanced way. During a meeting on 23 October 1992 with the open-ended working group on the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Special Rapporteur expatiated on this issue. A recapitulation in the present report of what he said on that occasion may be of some guidance to the Commission when it has to decide in the future which options should be chosen. 9. It cannot be denied that the issue of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is covered by a variety of mechanisms. This in itself is evidence of the fact that the international community considers torture to be one of the most heinous violations of human rights and unequivocally condemns it. 10. When looking at these various mechanisms, a first distinction can be made between treaty-based ones and the one established by the Commission. The former by definition have competence only with regard to States which have become party to the treaty, whereas the latter can address the Governments of all Member States of the United Nations and of all States which have observer status with the Organization. The Special Rapporteur's mandate is a reflection of the fact that the international community has come to the conclusion that the prohibition of torture is an obligation for all States, whether or not they have ratified a treaty which explicitly contains this prohibition. This conclusion is based, inter alia, upon the view of the International Court of Justice which in 1970 stated that the obligation to respect the basic human rights, to which the right not to be tortured belongs beyond any doubt, is an obligation erga omnes for each and every State, an obligation which a State has vis-a-vis the community of States as a whole. This is also reflected in the draft Code of Offences against the Peace and