E/CN.4/2002/76 page 13 By way of update in respect of possible missions, I wish to inform the General Assembly of the following: I regret that the Government of China did not confirm by the end of July, as discussed during a meeting with a delegation from the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva in June, the possibility of a visit last September. I reiterated that I was happy to accept the February 1999 invitation by the Government of China to conduct a friendly visit to China, on the basis of modalities that would ensure that the visit would provide information capable of permitting me to make recommendations responding to the factual, institutional and legal obstacles to guaranteeing full respect for the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment within my mandate. I consider that it is now up to the Government of China to inform the Special Rapporteur if and when it is willing to permit such a visit to take place. Regarding my joint request with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, to visit the Russian Federation with respect to the Republic of Chechnya, I also regret that the Government did not agree to a joint mission this year. Regarding my request to visit Israel with respect to the occupied Palestinian territories, I have reiterated my request to visit the country on the basis of the standard terms of reference for fact-finding missions. I have also inquired whether the non-cooperation of the Government on the basis of Commission resolution S-5/1 of 19 October 2000 would preclude my access to the country and to all places of detention and interrogation that would be chosen prior to and during the mission and confidential and unsupervised interviews with detained persons chosen by myself, as well as whether I would be able to count on the cooperation of law enforcement officials at all levels. To date, I have not received any response. My requests to visit India (1993), Indonesia (1993), Egypt (1996), Algeria (1997), Bahrain (1998), Tunisia (1998), Uzbekistan (2000) and Nepal (2001) remain outstanding. Since the last session of the Commission on Human Rights, I have also sought an invitation to Georgia. I think that most of you will know by now that on 15 October I tendered my resignation to the Chair of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Human Rights, to take effect on 12 November (next Monday). This was after long reflection and the decision weighed heavily with me. But I was forced to conclude that I could not responsibly continue to shoulder the burden of a full-time teaching post, the work created by my recent membership of the Human Rights Committee and the obligations of the Special Rapporteur mandate. While, after eight and half years’ efforts on the mandate, I should have wished that the scourge of torture in the world were far less prevalent, I am convinced that the mandate has made and will continue to make an important contribution to the inhibition and eventual eradication of torture. In the end, solutions can only be found at the national level. The United Nations can, does and must continue to support and encourage these (including by substantially increasing the resources for its work). The ultimate responsibility, nevertheless, remains on its Member States represented today by you Ladies and Gentlemen in this Committee Room.