ill-treatment. 16.At the conclusion of its visit, the Subcommittee presented its confidential preliminary conclusions to the Honduran authorities and invited them to submit comments by 23 October 2009. The Subcommittee is grateful for the comments received from the Office of the Attorney-General, the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Commissioner for Human Rights, which are contained in this report. 17.Through this report, drawn up in accordance with article 16 of the Optional Protocol, the Subcommittee conveys to Honduras the observations and recommendations resulting from its visit as they relate to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, with a view to improving the protection of such persons against torture and ill-treatment. The report of the visit forms an important part of the dialogue between the Subcommittee and the Honduran authorities concerning the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. In keeping with article 16, paragraph 2, of the Optional Protocol, this report is confidential unless the Honduran authorities request or decide upon its publication. I.Social and political context in which the visit was conducted and cooperation by the State party authorities 18.The Subcommittee informed the State party of its intention to visit Honduras in 2009 by letter dated 12 February 2009. In a letter dated 1 May 2009, the Subcommittee informed the Permanent Mission of Honduras to the United Nations Office at Geneva that the visit would take place from 13 to 22 September 2009 and requested its cooperation in the conduct of the visit. Among other things, and following its usual practice, the Subcommittee asked that delegation members should be issued with accreditation that would give them access to all facilities and premises where there might be persons deprived of liberty, and that liaison officers should be designated in order to ensure adequate communication and coordination between the delegation and the Honduran authorities. 19.Following the events of 28 June 2009 in Honduras, the Subcommittee confirmed its intention to visit on the planned dates and repeated its request for cooperation. Given the situation prevailing in the country, the Subcommittee was of the view that its work on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment had taken on particular relevance. On 27 July 2009, the Permanent Mission in Geneva informed the Subcommittee of its willingness to cooperate. Honduras had demonstrated its openness to international human rights mechanisms on 24 July 2009, when it had issued a standing invitation to the Human Rights Council special rapporteurs to visit the country. 20.The Subcommittee was fully aware of the intense debate regarding the legitimacy of the governing authorities after 28 June 2009. However, without engaging in an analysis of this highly political issue, the Subcommittee felt it was necessary to address itself to the authorities with direct responsibility for ensuring effective respect for the right of detainees to decent treatment, regardless of the circumstances. This need became ever more acute as reports began reaching the Subcommittee from late June onwards of numerous situations of torture and ill-treatment in the context of demonstrations protesting against the breakdown of constitutional government. In view of the de facto status of the Government at the time of its visit, the Subcommittee did not meet with the President or any of his ministers, or with any of the most senior officials appointed by them. 21.Being aware of the gravity of the political and social crisis Honduras was going through at the time of the visit, the Subcommittee decided to focus on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment in the context of the protest movement, and it received numerous witness statements concerning incidents covered by its mandate occurring after 28 June 2009. This report describes many of those incidents. 22.In addition, the Subcommittee itself witnessed acts of violence that took place during the suppression of demonstrations demanding the restoration of the constitutional order. The Subcommittee was in Honduras on 21 September 2009, the day President Zelaya returned to the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. That day a curfew was ordered from 4 p.m. and the airports were closed. As a result, the members of the Subcommittee were unable to leave the country on 22 September, the last day of their visit. On 23 September, with the airports still closed and the curfew in place for much of the day, the members of the Subcommittee left the country by road with a police escort. 23.While it regrets the circumstances surrounding the last two days of its stay in Honduras, the Subcommittee expresses its gratitude to the Honduran authorities who facilitated its visit. The representatives of the various bodies the Subcommittee asked to meet attended those meetings, sometimes at very short notice. Access to places of detention was rapid and unimpeded and in every case the authorities in the places visited showed themselves ready to cooperate with the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee also wishes to place on record that it enjoyed unrestricted access to persons deprived of their liberty whom it wished to interview in private, as well as to the reports and registers it requested. 24.The Subcommittee wishes to thank the representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with whom it met for the full and valuable information they provided, which made a significant contribution to ensuring that the visit achieved its purposes. It likewise expresses its gratitude for the testimonies and cooperation of those persons interviewed — whether deprived of their liberty or not — who generously agreed to share with the Subcommittee their experiences of torture and ill-treatment. 25.Lastly, the Subcommittee is deeply grateful for the support provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Honduras, which proved essential for the proper conduct of the visit. II.Information received by the Subcommittee on the use of torture and illtreatment in Honduras 26.The Subcommittee collected a great deal of information on the use of torture and ill-treatment in Honduras. The information was