Annex II LETTER OF RESIGNATION DATED 15 OCTOBER 2001 FROM THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ADDRESSED TO THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 15 October 2001 Dear Mr. Despouy, With regret, I submit to you my resignation as Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture, to take effect as from 12 November 2001. As I indicated to you at the time of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission, I had some doubts about whether to seek a final term as Special Rapporteur, given the extra work brought by my election to the Human Rights Committee. I accepted the mandate once more nevertheless, in the hope that this dual United Nations responsibility could be reconciled with my full-time academic post as Professor of Law at the University of Essex. Now, as my third session of the Human Rights Committee begins, it is clear that I cannot responsibly sustain such a workload, hence this resignation today, to be effective four weeks from now so that my successor may be appointed without a break in the work of the mandate. It was you, of course, who, as head of your Government’s delegation to the forty-first session of the Commission, introduced the draft that became resolution 1985/33 by which the mandate was established - just one of many demonstrations over the decades of your personal commitment to the worldwide eradication of torture. It is appropriate, therefore, that it now falls to you to appoint the third holder of this mandate, and I know that you will ensure that the work is continued by someone who will not only carry it out with authority and skill, but will also share our determination to rid the world of the scourge of torture. I take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation for the competence, professionalism and dedication of the Human Rights Officers who have carried the day-to-day burden of servicing the mandate, as well as for the support of their supervisors and the contribution of my research assistants in alleviating the impossible workload of the officers. I am also indebted to the leadership of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, especially the present High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner, for their constant political support of the mandate and its concerns. I must, however, remind the Commission, through you, that the mandate would be much more effective were the Office able to grant resources to permit maximum activity in responding to the enormous amount of information it receives or could obtain. Regrettably, the organization has still to demonstrate the political will and priority to translate its concerns about torture and other grave human rights problems into more effective action. I hope that the work of my successor will benefit from an allocation of resources commensurate with the scope of the problem. Yours sincerely, (Signed) Sir Nigel Rodley