Situation during the visit Steps taken in previous years (E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2) (See E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2) (See E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.2) The top federal and state political leaders declare unambiguously that torture and other ill-treatment by public officials will not be tolerated and that the culture of impunity must end. Non-governmental sources: Public declarations condemning torture made by high profile political leaders, other than human rights secretaries, are extremely rare. The Federal Government launched a national campaign against torture after the Special Rapporteur’s visit. However, the campaign failed to address the fundamental causes of the crime and did not seek to improve mechanisms for safe and effective reporting and prosecution of cases. Unannounced visits to police stations, pre-trial detention facilities and penitentiaries should be carried out. The occurrence of abuse should result in the removal from office. (a) Abuse of power of arrest without judicial order in flagrante delicto cases Information received on steps taken since December 2007/current situation Non-governmental sources: In international fora, the federal government has officially recognized the persistence of the practice of torture. Similarly, individual state and federal government representatives have at times recognized that the problem persists. However, there is still a need for a consistent, clear and unambiguous condemnation, with the aim of sending an unequivocal message to perpetrators and public at large. The Government focused on the creation of a very short and limited publicity campaign and the creation of a telephone hotline, to encourage anonymous denunciations, and with a view to collecting data. The administration and running of the “SOS Torture” line has been carried out by NGOs, who receive government funding for doing so. It was reported that the data collected by the hotline is not a reliable indicator of levels of torture in a given place, as higher numbers of calls may result from a variety of factors, such as higher awareness of the existence of the hotline or better access to telephones. Given the anonymous nature of the hotline it did not contribute to the effective reporting or investigation of alleged cases of torture. It appeared that there was a tendency to carry out arrests later classified as in flagrante Non-governmental sources: This problem persists. A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 14 Recommendations