A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 24 IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions 90. The Special Rapporteur concludes that the Government of Sri Lanka has set a number of important legal steps in order to prevent and combat torture as well as to hold perpetrators accountable. Most notably, the enactment of the Torture Act No. 22 of 1994 and the Corporal Punishment Act No. 23 of 2005 as well as legal safeguards in the Code of Criminal Procedure constitute positive legal measures in the fight against torture. The Special Rapporteur is further encouraged by the fact that capital punishment has not been executed in Sri Lanka for more than three decades. The fact that a system of JMOs is in place in the country is also a positive sign. 91. However, the system set up by these positive measures cannot be regarded as fully effective. The high number of successful fundamental rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, as well as the even higher number of complaints that the NHRC continues to receive on an almost daily basis indicates that torture is still widely practised in Sri Lanka. Obstacles for victims of torture to access the JMOs result in loss of important medical evidence which in turn impedes criminal proceedings against perpetrators. The absence of an obligation on law enforcement officials or judges to investigate cases of torture ex officio further aggravates the situation for victims. In general, the lack of effective witness and victim protection prevents the effective application of the laws in place. 92. Under the Emergency Regulations, most of the safeguards against torture mentioned above either do not apply or are simply disregarded, which leads to a situation in which torture becomes a routine practice in the context of counter-terrorism operations. The non-applicability of important legal safeguards in the context of counter-terrorism measures, as well as excessively prolonged police detention, opens the door for abuse. The Special Rapporteur is also shocked by the brutality of some of the torture measures applied to persons suspected of being LTTE members, such as burnings with soldering irons and suspension by the thumbs. 93. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the reported links between the Government and the TMVP-Karuna group, which were confirmed by the representative the Special Rapporteur met in Trincomalee. The TMVP-Karuna group has been accused of particularly brutal human rights abuses. B. Recommendations 94. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (a) End impunity for members of the TMVP-Karuna group; (b) Ensure that detainees are given access to legal counsel within 24 hours of arrest, including persons arrested under the Emergency Regulations; (c) All detainees should be granted the ability to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before an independent court, e.g. through habeas corpus proceedings;