A/73/207 society organizations and human rights defenders contributes decisively to protecting human rights and, specifically, preventing torture and ill -treatment. 37. In many States, the broader human rights environment is inadequate or lacking in resources and support. In some cases, it has recently even come under threat through increasingly repressive policies and practices. In many parts of the world, human rights defenders face harassment, persecution and threats to their physical or mental integrity or livelihood by State and non-State actors. That situation is often not only tolerated but instigated or maintained as a matter of official State policy (A/70/217, paras. 35–77). (d) Political will 38. Perhaps the most important barrier to the effective national implementation of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is the absence of the political will needed to shape government policy and change institutional cultures and processes with a view to making the prohibition a reality. Even the most exemplary national framework will remain ineffective if resources and support for it are lacking. 39. A genuine national commitment to eradicating torture and ill -treatment is incompatible with tolerance for corruption, organized crime and similar structural factors that create fertile ground for such abuse (CAT/C/52/2, paras. 72–100, and A/HRC/37/L.32). Indeed, a significant proportion of allegations of torture and illtreatment received by the Special Rapporteur during country visits relate to abuse inflicted for the purpose of covering up crimes or boosting conviction statistics by coercing innocent persons to confess to offences they did not commit, or for the purpose of punishing or intimidating persons complaining about corruption schemes that lead to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions and treatment in places of detention or marginalized communities. Corruption further de cisively affects the willingness of authorities to investigate and adjudicate allegations of torture and ill treatment, or to provide for compensation and rehabilitation. The violent consequences of corruption are exacerbated where State officials collude with organized crime in contexts such as the trafficking or smuggling of persons, human organs, narcotics and other contraband. 40. High-level, official policies may, deliberately or inadvertently, create an environment conducive to the practice of torture and ill-treatment. That certainly is the case where violent political rhetoric directly encourages the use of coercive interrogation against suspected terrorists and other “enemies” of the State. In many States, tough policies on common criminality entail an overuse of incarceration that, in turn, leads to cruel, inhuman or degrading conditions of detention: overcrowded prisons lacking in funding and personnel and with high levels of violence perpetrated by prison staff and between inmates. Similarly, the widespread overuse of solitary confinement may in itself amount to a form of torture or ill -treatment and also increases the risk of additional abuse and the likelihood that violations will go unchallenged. 41. Lastly, an area in which national and transnational policies and practices have had substantial regressive implications for the prohibition of torture and ill -treatment is irregular migration. 14 Widespread deterrence-based, punitive and discriminatory policies undermine the prohibition of refoulement and push increasing numbers of migrants on to irregular routes and into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. Mandatory, prolonged or indefinite criminal or administrative detention, often in __________________ 14 18-12051 The term “irregular migrants” is used to refer to migrants failing to comply with the regular domestic immigration legislation of their current transit or destination State. 11/23