A/69/387 IV. Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions 58. Following from the State’s obligation to investigate torture and other ill-treatment, the effective medical and legal investigation and documentation of torture and other ill-treatment are essential for the prevention of and accountability and redress for these crimes, as well as for the general operation of international law regarding torture. The Special Rapporteur finds that for every single right the victim has — from being free from torture in the first place to the rights after having survived torture, and even for the families of those torture victims who do not survive — documentation and evidence is the most fundamental prerequisite, and, unfortunately, one the attainments of which is too often frustrated. 59. States have an obligation to put in place and apply an effective process of evidence collection that accords with the Istanbul Protocol to comply with their obligation to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur notes that adequate, extensive forensic evaluation in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, and the effective training of health, legal and other professionals involved in documenting and investigations of torture and other ill-treatment, will positively impact the detection and prevention of torture. Properly supported cases with good quality forensic reports are revolutionizing the investigation of torture and improving outcomes. Good reports include analysis and interpretation of findings in terms of consistency with alleged events. They make clear that the absence of outward signs does not exclude the events from having happened. 60. There is a pressing need to step up the overall involvement of forensic medical science across the various sectors of the criminal justice cycle, and where persons are at particular risk, including administrative, pretrial and juvenile detention and psychiatric institutions. If police officers, prison wardens, hospital administrators, prosecutors and judges were under a legal obligation to request proper forensic medical examinations as a standard procedure whenever there are suspicions or allegations of torture or other ill-treatment, victims would be in a considerably stronger position. In addition to their role in prosecution, forensic medical services can also play a transforming role in prevention. As required in the Body of Principles and expanded in the standard-setting Istanbul Protocol, routine medical examinations of detainees after admission to every place of detention create a system of “checkpoints” that minimizes the number of unaccounted cases of torture and renders impossible a shifting of blame and accountability among various detention facilities and authorities. 35 61. While much progress has undoubtedly been made in the past few years, in scientific advances, in medical standards and in legal norm-setting, the impact of forensic medical science is undermined by a lack of institutional independence, rigorous implementation and sufficient training. In many cases, health professionals in detention facilities have an almost exclusively therapeutic role or other staff have only basic training as paramedics; their __________________ 35 14-61535 See A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 126. 19/23