A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 6 6. The Special Rapporteur shared his preliminary findings with the Government at the close of his mission, to which the Government responded with constructive comments. He is pleased to report that the Government at that time already indicated that it will appoint a high-level task force to study his recommendations, consisting of public sector stakeholders and members representing judicial and civil society sectors. On 16 January 2008, a preliminary version of this report was sent to the Government. On 20 February, the Government provided comments. 7. The Special Rapporteur wishes to acknowledge with appreciation the excellent support provided by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, and his staff in the United Nations country team; the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Dr. Derrick Pounder, University of Dundee, United Kingdom; and Julia Kozma and Isabelle Tschan of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights. A. Particular circumstances of fact-finding in Sri Lanka 8. It was the intention of the Special Rapporteur to assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment in the entire territory of the country, and to examine not only torture and ill-treatment allegedly committed by the police and other security forces of the Government of Sri Lanka, but also those allegedly committed by or on behalf of other parties to the present conflict, including the LTTE. Indeed the most serious allegations of human rights violations that come to light, including those related to torture and ill-treatment, are in relation to the conflict and are alleged to be committed by both government and non-State forces, including the LTTE and the TMVP-Karuna group. 9. The Special Rapporteur established contact with the LTTE in preparation of the mission and was in fact provided with an invitation to all areas under LTTE control. From the very start of preparations, the Government was supportive of the Special Rapporteur’s objective to probe allegations of torture and ill-treatment attributed to the LTTE. However, prior to the commencement of the visit, the Government denied him permission to travel to LTTE-controlled areas on the basis that the Special Rapporteur’s visit there would be used by the LTTE for purposes of propaganda. Thus, the Special Rapporteur was not able to speak to detainees under the direct control of the LTTE and can therefore not draw any conclusions of the situation regarding torture and ill-treatment in these areas. 10. The Special Rapporteur also requested the Government to provide him with a letter of authorization for detention facilities of the Ministry of Defense. The Government, however, maintained the position before and throughout the mission that the Sri Lankan armed forces no longer had the authority to detain persons but were obliged to immediately hand over any arrested person to the police. As a consequence, the Special Rapporteur was not provided with a letter of authorization to visit any facilities of the armed forces. The primary focus of the findings of the Special Rapporteur therefore relate to torture, ill-treatment and conditions of detention in the ordinary context of the criminal justice system as well as to the treatment of suspected members of the LTTE held by the Sri Lankan civilian authorities (police and prison administration), including persons held under the Emergency Regulations.