Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that torture is a crime against humanity when it is: committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack [para. 1] The absolute prohibition of all forms of torture has consequences for the use of force and weapons by prison staff. Article 3 of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials provides that: Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty. Article 1 of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance states: 1. Any act of enforced disappearance is an offence to human dignity. It is condemned as a denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a grave and flagrant violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed and developed in international instruments in this field. In General Assembly resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992, which proclaimed the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, "enforced disappearances" are defined as acts whereby: persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of Government, or by organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law [third preambular paragraph] It is essential that when someone who is in detention or prison disappears or dies there should be an independent investigation into the cause of the disappearance or death. Principle 34 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment provides that: Whenever the death or disappearance of a detained or imprisoned person occurs during his detention or imprisonment, an inquiry into the cause of death or disappearance shall be held by a judicial or other authority, either on its own motion or at the instance of a member of the family of such a person or any person who has knowledge of the case. ... If someone who is in detention or prison dies or is seriously injured, the prison authorities should inform the next of kin. This is provided for in rule 44 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners: (1) Upon the death or serious illness of, or serious injury to a prisoner, or his removal to an institution for the treatment of mental affections, the director shall at once inform the spouse, if the prisoner is married, or the nearest relative and shall in any event inform any other person previously designated by the prisoner. 36