A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 Mongolia Follow-up of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on Torture (Manfred Nowak) pursuant his visit to Mongolia in June 2005 (E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.4, para. 55) 47. On 23 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent the table below to the Government of Mongolia requesting information and comments on the follow-up measures taken with regard to the implementation of his recommendations. By letter dated 19 January 2010, the Government responded with a detailed report to this request. The Special Rapporteur reaffirms that he stands ready to assist in efforts to prevent and combat torture and illtreatment. 48. The Special Rapporteur welcomes Mongolia’s legislative efforts to criminalize torture but regrets that the definition of torture is not in line with the requirements of articles 1 and 4 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). He further notes with concern that the Criminal Procedure Code does not ensure that evidence obtained from torture is not invoked in any proceedings and reiterates that confessions not made in the presence of a lawyer should be inadmissible. 49. The Special Rapporteur urges Mongolia to undertake all efforts, including the amendment of laws, to combat the persisting culture of impunity in the country. Commending the important work of the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia (NHRCM) and the Office of the Prosecution in receiving complaints and undertaking investigations, he underlines the need for adequate funding of those mechanisms and noninterference in their work in order to guarantee their functioning. 50. Also welcoming the efforts of the NHRCM and NGOs in conducting visits to prisons, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance of an independent and effective body systematically undertaking visits to all places of detention. For this purpose, he urges the Government to ratify the OPCAT and establish a National Preventive Mechanism. 51. The Special Rapporteur also positively notes the role of the NHRMC in conducting trainings for the prevention of torture among law enforcement personnel and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system as well as general awareness-raising campaigns, and encourages Mongolia to continue such efforts. 52. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty and hopes for its abolition in law. 106