E/CN.4/2002/76 page 11 While reaffirming that enforced disappearances are unlawful under international law and cause much anguish, whatever their duration, I believe that to make someone disappear is a form of prohibited torture or ill-treatment, clearly as regards the relatives of the disappeared person and arguably in respect of the disappeared person or him/herself. I further believe that prolonged incommunicado detention in a secret place may amount to torture as described in article 1 of the Convention against Torture. The suffering endured by the disappeared persons, who are isolated from the outside world and denied any recourse to the protection of the law, and by their relatives, doubtless increases as time goes by. Nevertheless, it is my opinion that the Special Rapporteur on torture should continue to refrain from dealing with cases of disappearances so as to avoid duplication with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. I hope that these two mechanisms will be sending joint communications, especially when fears have been expressed that the persons concerned may be at risk of torture and further disappearance in view of the incommunicado nature of their detention in a secret place. Torture and discrimination against sexual minorities For some years, I have received information regarding victims of torture and other forms of ill-treatment belonging to sexual minorities, who are said to have been subjected to violence of a sexual nature, such as rape or sexual assault, and other abuse relating to their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. I believe that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity may contribute to the process of the dehumanization of the victim, which is often a necessary condition for torture and ill-treatment to take place. Furthermore, discriminatory attitudes towards members of sexual minorities can mean that they are perceived as less credible by law enforcement agencies or not fully entitled to an equal standard of protection, including protection against violence carried out by non-State agents. Members of sexual minorities, when arrested for other alleged offences or when lodging a complaint of harassment by third parties, have reportedly been subjected to further victimization by the police, including verbal, physical and sexual assault, including rape. Silencing through shame or the threat by law enforcement officials to publicly disclose the birth sex of the victim or his or her sexual orientation (to family members, among others) may keep a considerable number of victims from reporting abuses. Torture and impunity I have noted in the past that the single most important factor in the proliferation and continuation of torture is the persistence of impunity, be it of a de jure or de facto nature. Causes of impunity of a de jure nature encompass measures relieving perpetrators of torture of legal liability, inter alia by providing an unrealistically short period of prescription, adopting acts of indemnity, or by granting amnesties to perpetrators of grave violations of human rights. It is with regard to the granting of amnesties that I have reviewed the recent developments in international law on the question of the compatibility of amnesties with States’ international obligations to combat torture.