A/65/273 31. Between 28 June and 2 July 2010, the Special Rapporteur attended the annual meeting of special rapporteurs, representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of working groups of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva. On 29 June, the Special Rapporteur gave a keynote speech at a workshop organized by Linking Solidarity, on enforced disappearances in Africa. 32. On 14 July, the Special Rapporteur gave training to approximately 80 staff members of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on “Human rights and HIV/AIDS”, in Vienna. 33. On 17 July, the Special Rapporteur was part of a panel on the topic “Which future for the Council and its review?”, at the Diplomatic Conference “2011 review of the Human Rights Council”, organized in Venice, Italy, by the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization. 34. On 20 July, in the context of the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, the Special Rapporteur attended a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Austrian Parliament, on the topic of “Criminal justice and public health”. On the same day, the Special Rapporteur participated in an event with another mandate holder and the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on “The role of human rights mechanisms in advancing the AIDS response”, organized by the International AIDS Society. On 23 July, he gave a speech on “HIV and incarceration: prison and detention” at the plenary session of the Conference. III. Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture A. Prevalence of torture 35. The scale and scope of impunity found in many countries visited by the Special Rapporteur has been one of his most disappointing findings. During his time as mandate holder, the Special Rapporteur has been witness to the distressing reality that both torture and ill-treatment are widespread practices throughout the world. The existing international legal framework provides a broad range of norms and standards to prohibit, prevent and eradicate torture. Their effective application, however, continues to be a challenge. 36. States bear the main responsibility for implementing international human rights standards, including the prohibition of torture. However, torture occurs because national legal frameworks are deficient and do not properly codify torture as a crime with appropriate sanctions. Torture persists because national criminal systems lack the essential procedural safeguards to prevent its occurrence, to effectively investigate allegations and to bring perpetrators to justice. Moreover, torture remains entrenched because of a climate of tolerance of excessive use of force by law enforcement officials in many countries. B. Convention against Torture 37. Article 4 of the Convention against Torture sets out the obligation of States parties to ensure that all acts of torture are an offence under their criminal legislation and that appropriate penalties are foreseen. Article 4, paragraph 1, must be read in conjunction with article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention, since it would 10-48049 9