E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.1 page 28 103. Magistrates are also said to have been asked by the Plenary of the Supreme Court to provide by all appropriate means explanations to the persons who have suffered torture and other unlawful acts regarding their right to claim compensation for moral and physical suffering and to create the necessary conditions for them actually to benefit from this right.16 104. Finally, the Minister of Justice recognized the need to have an independent mechanism monitoring places of detention, such as the ICRC. In that respect, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the recent agreement between the Government and the ICRC by which all places of detention will be visited by the ICRC. III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions 105. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges with appreciation the full facilities granted him by the authorities. The mission’s terms of reference were scrupulously respected. In particular, no obstacles were raised to his visiting (or revisiting) places of detention on an unannounced basis, nor to his speaking to persons held in such places in the sole presence of members of his team. 106. Azerbaijan, formerly a republic of the Soviet Union, has only been independent since August 1991. Its population of some 7 million is more or less evenly spread in terms of urban and rural residence. The cities are more prosperous than the countryside. The country has important natural resources, notably petroleum, together with extraction and refining facilities, as well as developed agriculture permitting or, at least, promising self-sufficiency. 107. Historically and culturally it conceives of itself as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Politically, it aspires to be part of the European geostrategic polity: it is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a candidate for membership of the Council of Europe. 108. While formally now a multi-party democracy, many Azerbaijanis question whether the resounding majorities achieved in presidential and parliamentary elections are an accurate reflection of the real voting pattern. On the other hand, the present political leadership seems to have provided a certain stability after real threats to the coherence of the State in the early 1990s, although the Government has been confronted by armed challenges in the mid-1990s. Reforms under way to the elections law are pointed to as a possible solution to the question of the legitimacy of the political authorities. 109. There is also a widespread belief both within and outside the country that corruption17 is prevalent and that this extends to the administration of justice. This was indicated as one of the reasons behind a radical reform of the judiciary being carried out under the auspices of the World Bank. 110. As far as specific issues relating to the treatment of prisoners are concerned, notable improvements were identified. The achievement of the abolition of the death penalty in February 1998 was consistently cited with justifiable pride by official interlocutors with whom the Special Rapporteur spoke. The moving of correctional facilities and remand centres