A/59/324 I. Introduction 1. The present report is the sixth submitted to the General Assembly by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 58/164 and Commission resolution 2004/41. It is the third report submitted by the present mandate-holder, Theo van Boven. This report covers issues of special concern to the Special Rapporteur, in particular overall trends and developments with respect to issues falling within his mandate. 2. The Special Rapporteur draws attention to his report to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session (E/CN.4/2004/56 and Add.1-3), in which he recalled a number of guarantees for individuals deprived of their liberty with a view to protecting them from the risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment; examined the question of HIV/AIDS and torture; and provided information on the follow-up to the preliminary study of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of trade in and production of equipment which is specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, its origin, destination and forms (E/CN.4/2003/69). The annex to the main report contains an index of the reports submitted by the three successive mandate-holders. 3. As reflected in addendum 1 to his report to the Commission (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1), in the period from 15 December 2002 to 15 December 2003, the Special Rapporteur sent 154 letters to 76 Governments containing allegations of individual cases of torture or general references to the phenomenon of torture. The Special Rapporteur also sent 71 letters reminding Governments of a number of cases that had been transmitted in previous years. He sent 369 urgent appeals to 80 Governments on behalf of individuals with regard to whom concern was expressed that they might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment. In addition to the annual addendum on communications, the Special Rapporteur issued an addendum on the state of follow-up to recommendations made after country visits (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.3). 4. At the invitation of the Government of Spain, the Special Rapporteur undertook a visit to that country from 5 to 10 October 2003 during which he met various government officials, representatives of civil society organizations and alleged torture victims and their relatives (see E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.2). The Special Rapporteur expressed his appreciation to the Government of Spain for the full cooperation extended to him during the mission. The Special Rapporteur concluded that torture or ill-treatment is not systematic in Spain, but that the system as it is practised allows torture or ill-treatment to occur, particularly with regard to persons detained incommunicado in connection with terrorist-related activities. Accordingly, he recommended a number of measures to be adopted by the Government in order to comply with its commitment to prevent and suppress acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 5. Since the submission of the report to the Commission on Human Rights, during the period from 16 December 2003 to 31 July 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent 94 letters concerning allegations of torture to 42 Governments, as well as 237 urgent appeals to 58 Governments on behalf of persons who might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment. 3