33.bis The Committee recognizes that the collection of data and statistics is a critical tool to enable a State party to consider its own compliance with the obligations under article 3. States parties should collect and share information on asylum-seekers, including those in detention, as well as on persons involuntarily transferred by the State party. k) Section X: Specific requirements for the submission of individual communications under Article 22 of the Convention and interim measures of protection, paragraphs 33-53 i) Paragraph 35 82. We suggest that the General Comment should expressly clarify that the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures do not constitute “another procedure of international investigation or settlement”, for the purposes of Article 22(4)(a). ii) Paragraph 36 83. The draft does not currently reflect the obligation on States parties to act ex officio in cases where the authorities know, or are in a position to know, of the existence of a real and foreseeable risk of torture and the resulting implications regarding exhaustion of domestic remedies. For greater clarity and more specific guidance we thus recommend the textual changes below. Recommended textual addition: (Paragraph 36bis) When the authorities of the State party know the existence of a real and foreseeable risk of torture for an individual, or when this risk is so obvious that the authorities ought to known its existence, they must raise this risk ex officio and reject the relevant order for involuntary transfer. Thus, in cases where the risk of torture to the complainant was so obvious that the State party’s authorities should have been aware of it and raised it ex officio, subparagraph b of article 22 paragraph 5 should not be an obstacle to the admissibility of the communication.117 iii) Paragraphs 38 and 39 84. Interim measures are a cornerstone mechanism to protect the rights of victims and avoid irreparable harm, while a complaint is being considered. The vast majority of requests for interim measures issued by the Committee have arisen in cases concerning the implementation of non-refoulement obligations under Article 3 of the Convention. Interim measures can be the last resort lifeline to prevent the complainant’s involuntary transfer, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of articles 3 and 22 of the Convention. 85. The legal consequences of the failure to implement interim measures, as well as its effects, have been addressed consistently in various decisions of this Committee, where it has held that by failing to 117 See for example: CAT, Abdul Rahman Alhaj Ali v. Morroco, UN Doc. CAT/C/58/D/682/2015, 13 Sept. 2016, para. 7.3. and 7.4. 35 AI Index: IOR 40/6040/2017