E/CN.4/1998/38 page 44 inappropriate for crimes such as torture or similar ill-treatment perpetrated by public officials. He notes the finding of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia who also “continues to receive reports of torture and ill-treatment from various parts of the country” and who emphasizes “her concern about the question of impunity, which, unless addressed by the Government, will continue to facilitate further acts of torture” (A/52/490, para. 159). Zambia 218. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal to the Government on behalf of seven individuals and a number of unnamed persons. Other communications: information transmitted to the Palestinian Authority 219. The Special Rapporteur made one urgent appeal on behalf of one individual. IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 220. As he comes to the end of his first full term of office, the Special Rapporteur can only be disappointed at the high incidence of torture in many countries, while noting that it has substantially diminished in some, notably where United Nations field operations are in place pursuant to a peace agreement. How far the progress can be attributed to the field presence and how far to the ending of the conflict is difficult to assess. Both factors may be assumed to be making a contribution. 221. Regarding the continuing prevalence of the practice in so many countries, the Special Rapporteur notes that in the past he has focused most of his recommendations on measures that can be taken by the countries where the torture takes place (see E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 926). As he has pointed out, impunity of the perpetrators is at the heart of the problem, whether by leaving detainees at the unsupervised mercy of their captors and interrogators without access to the outside world (incommunicado detention), thus ensuring that evidence of the crime of torture will not emerge, or by other means of manipulating the criminal justice system so as to prevent torturers from being brought to justice. This may be done by passing laws aimed at relieving the perpetrators from criminal responsibility (amnesties, acts of indemnity and so on), that is, de jure impunity, or by procedural means of blocking the workings of justice, that is, de facto impunity. 222. In the light of recent developments, the Special Rapporteur deems it useful to address measures that can be taken by the international community to help end impunity for human rights crimes such as torture. Most topical is the process currently under way of drafting a statute for an International Criminal Court. This is a very positive development as the world approaches the twenty-first century. 223. It is expected that any such court would be able to try crimes against humanity. It is also expected that the statute will reflect (as is already the case as regards the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for