Acknowledging the valuable work of Governments, associations, groups and individuals in contributing to the effective elimination of all forms of torture, Paying tribute to all those who work selflessly to relieve the suffering and assist the recovery of torture victims around the world, Commending the persistent efforts of non-governmental organizations to combat torture and to alleviate the suffering of victims of torture, 1. Renew their appeal, on the occasion of the United Nations Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 26 June 2000, for the provision of support to victims of torture, this year with particular emphasis on reparation, as well as for the prevention and prohibition of torture and to this end; 2. Stress, in particular, the increasing need for legal assistance to obtain reparation, compensation and rehabilitation services for victims of torture and encourage the Fund to continue to support small projects of humanitarian assistance to victims of torture in various countries, taking into consideration that efficiency is linked to the proximity of these humanitarian organizations to the victims; 3. Express their gratitude and appreciation to those Governments, organizations and individuals that have contributed to the Fund, in particular those which were able to respond favourably to the appeal by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and paid their contributions before the annual session of the Board, as well as those which have increased the amount of their contribution, and encourage them to continue to do so; 4. Urge all Governments, organizations and individuals to contribute annually to the Fund, preferably by 1 March, before the annual session of its Board of Trustees, and if possible with a substantial increase in the contributions in order to take into consideration the ever-increasing request for medical, psychological, social, economic, legal, humanitarian and other forms of assistance to victims of torture and members of their families worldwide; 5. Urge all States to become parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment without reservation, if they have not already done so; 6. Urge States parties to the Convention that have not yet accepted its optional provisions to do so as soon as possible; 7. Call on all States to redouble their efforts to achieve the early adoption of the optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 8. Urge all States to become parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted on 17 July 1998, as a matter of priority; 9. Urge all States to ensure that torture is a crime under their domestic law and to pursue perpetrators rigorously, whenever and wherever the act was committed, and bring them to justice; 10. Welcome the decision of the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2000/43 of 20 April 2000, to draw the attention of Governments to the Principles on the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, annexed to that resolution; 11. Support the recommendation of the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2000/32, that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights encourage forensic experts to coordinate further and produce additional manuals concerned with examination of living persons, and welcomes the initiative by the Office of the High Commissioner to publish the "Manual on the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" in its Professional Training Series, towards which the Fund contributed; 49