A/54/426 E. Torture of human rights defenders 43. In its resolution 1999/66, the Commission on Human Rights urged all treaty bodies and special representatives, special rapporteurs and working groups of the Commission and the Subcommission to give due regard to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (General Assembly resolution 53/144, annex) within their mandates. Article 12 (2) of the Declaration provides that “[t]he State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”. 44. The Special Rapporteur has continuously received allegations concerning the torture or ill-treatment of human rights defenders. In the latest statistics available to the Special Rapporteur, in the years 1997 and 1998 21 human rights defenders were tortured or ill-treated or at risk of torture or ill-treatment. The repression of human rights defenders has a chilling effect on the promotion and protection of human rights and thus is of grave concern to the Special Rapporteur. In his forthcoming report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur will address this issue in greater detail. F. Question of non-refoulement 45. Article 3 (1) of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment provides that “[n]o State Party shall expel, return (refouler) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”The Human Rights Committee has also stated, in its general comment 20 (44) of 3 April 1992, that “States parties must not expose individuals to the danger of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon return to another country by way of their extradition, expulsion or refoulement. States parties should indicate in their reports what measures they have adopted to that end.”5 46. The Special Rapporteur has utilized the urgent appeal mechanisms to intervene in cases where an individual is to be deported, extradited, expelled or returned to another country where he or she is thought to be at risk of torture 10 or ill-treatment. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that he does not request the concerned State not to return the individual, but rather, he calls upon the State to take effective steps to ensure that the individual would not be subjected to such treatment if he or she is indeed returned. G. Question of impunity 47. Both the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment establish an obligation for the State to carry out an impartial investigation, even if there has been no formal complaint, where there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed. Further, States have an obligation to ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law and that these offences shall be punishable by appropriate penalties. Moreover, any person alleged to have committed such an offence shall be taken into custody or shall have other legal measures taken against him to ensure his presence. 48. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that impunity continues to be the principal cause of the perpetuation and encouragement of human rights violations and, in particular, torture. The Special Rapporteur is in agreement with his colleague, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, that even if in exceptional cases Governments may decide that perpetrators should benefit from measures that would exempt them from or limit the extent of their punishment, the obligation of Governments to bring them to justice and hold them formally accountable stands (see A/51/457, para. 120). H. Compensation and rehabilitation of torture victims 49. Both the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provide that a State should ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to