determined and effective measures to prevent and combat torture and other ill-treatment; and to ensure the full rehabilitation of torture victims.87 65. Nevertheless, human rights defenders in several participating States continue to face threats and acts of violence as a result of their work, including killings and acts of torture and other ill-treatment. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has deplored the fact “that human rights defenders, including journalists, are all too often victims of violations of their rights, threats and attacks, despite efforts at both national and international levels”.88 The UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have both expressed their grave concern “with regards to the serious nature of risks faced by human rights defenders due to threats, attacks and acts of intimidation against them.”89 UN Treaty Bodies have also expressed their concern at reports of threats, assaults and other acts of violence, sometimes including murder, against human rights defenders in a number of OSCE participating States.90 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has deplored the fact that some of the most serious attacks on human rights defenders in some countries, including murders, abductions and torture, have still not been 87  See Document of the Seventeenth Meeting of the Ministerial Council, “Ministerial Declaration on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” (Athens 2009), paras. 8 and 9. For earlier OSCE commitments concerning the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, see also Vienna 1989, para. 23.4; Copenhagen 1990, para. 16.1; Charter of Paris for a New Europe (Paris 1990); Budapest 1994, para. 20; Istanbul 1999, “Charter for European Security: III. Our Common Response”, para. 24; and the Document of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Ministerial Council (Ljubljana 2005), Decision No. 12/05 on Upholding Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Criminal Justice Systems. 88  See the preamble to the “Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Council of Europe action to improve the protection of human rights defenders and promote their activities”, adopted on 6 February 2008. 89  See the preambles to UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6, UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/22/6, adopted on 21 March 2013 and UNGA Resolution 66/164, UN Doc. A/RES/66/164, adopted on 19 December 2011. Concerning threats and attacks against women human rights defenders in particular, see also UNGA Resolution 68/181, UN Doc. A/RES/68/181, adopted on 18 December 2013. 90  See, for example, “Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee on Ukraine”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/UKR/CO/7, 22 August 2013, para. 20; “Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee on Serbia”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/SRB/CO/2, 20 May 2011, para. 21; “Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee on Uzbekistan”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/UZB/CO/3, 7 April 2010, para. 24); “Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee on the Russian Federation”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/RUS/CO/6, 24 November 2009, para. 16; “Concluding Observations of the UN Committee against Torture on the Russian Federation”, UN Doc. CAT/C/RUS/CO/5, 11 December 2012, para. 12; “Concluding Observations of the UN Committee against Torture on Belarus”, UN Doc. CAT/C/BLR/CO/4, 7 December 2011, para. 25; “Concluding Observations of the UN Committee against Torture on Turkmenistan”, UN Doc. CAT/C/TKM/CO/1, 15 June 2011, para. 13; “Concluding Observations of the UN Committee against Torture on Azerbaijan”, UN Doc. CAT/C/AZE/CO/3, 8 December 2009, para. 21. 44 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders