12. Through review of successive reports from States parties, the examination of individual communications, and monitoring of developments, the
Committee has, in its concluding observations, articulated its understanding
of what constitute effective measures, highlights of which we set forth here.
In terms of both the principles of general application of article 2 and developments that build upon specific articles of the Convention, the Committee has
recommended specific actions designed to enhance each State party’s ability
swiftly and effectively to implement measures necessary and appropriate to
prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment and thereby assist States parties in
bringing their law and practice into full compliance with the Convention.
13. Certain basic guarantees apply to all persons deprived of their liberty.
Some of these are specified in the Convention, and the Committee consistently
calls upon States parties to use them. The Committee’s recommendations
concerning effective measures aim to clarify the current baseline and are
not exhaustive. Such guarantees include, inter alia, maintaining an official
register of detainees, the right of detainees to be informed of their rights, the
right promptly to receive independent legal assistance, independent medical
assistance, and to contact relatives, the need to establish impartial mechanisms for inspecting and visiting places of detention and confinement, and
the availability to detainees and persons at risk of torture and ill-treatment
of judicial and other remedies that will allow them to have their complaints
promptly and impartially examined, to defend their rights, and to challenge
the legality of their detention or treatment.
14. Experience since the Convention came into force has enhanced the
Committee’s understanding of the scope and nature of the prohibition against
torture, of the methodologies of torture, of the contexts and consequences in
which it occurs, as well as of evolving effective measures to prevent it in different contexts. For example, the Committee has emphasized the importance of
having same sex guards when privacy is involved. As new methods of prevention (e.g. videotaping all interrogations, utilizing investigative procedures such
as the Istanbul Protocol of 1999260, or new approaches to public education or
the protection of minors) are discovered, tested and found effective, article 2
provides authority to build upon the remaining articles and to expand the
scope of measures required to prevent torture.
260. Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Effective investigation of ill-treatment – Guidelines ► Page 112
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