11 Furthermore, where pertinent, several sources of domestic law of OAS Member States were also considered. 32. Likewise, other relevant international instruments are taken into account, such as the Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived 29 of Liberty in the Americas (hereinafter “the Principles and Best Practices), adopted by st the Inter-American Commission in March 2008 in the context of its 131 regular period of sessions; the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (hereinafter 30 31 “the Standard Minimum Rules”); the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners; the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or 32 Imprisonment; and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on Non-custodial 33 Measures (Tokyo Rules). Both the Inter-American Commission and the Court have consistently used these instruments as guidelines for the interpretation of the content and scope of the provisions of the American Convention in cases of persons deprived of liberty. 33. As part of the specific methodology used by the IACHR in the process of preparing this report, a questionnaire was developed and sent out to the OAS 34 Member States and to other relevant actors. The questionnaire was answered by a 35 total of sixteen OAS Member States: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 29 Americas. IACHR, Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the 30 UN, Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, in Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolutions 663C (XXIV) of June 31, 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of May 13, 1977. 31 UN, Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly in its Resolution 45/111, of December 14, 1990. 32 UN, Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 43/173, of December 9, 1988. 33 UN, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on Non Custodial Measures (Tokyo rules), Adopted by the General Assembly in Resolution 45/110, of December 14, 1990. 34 This questionnaire was sent to the OAS Member States between August 24 and 28, 2012, and resent between October 12 and 15 to those States that had not submitted their responses. This questionnaire was also posted on the Web page of the Inter-American Commission in the four official OAS languages. This information is available at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/pdl/reports/questionnaires.asp. 35 Note of the Permanent Mission of Bolivia to the OAS, No. OEA-CIDH-190-12 of December 6, 2012, sending communication GM-DGAJ-UAJI-3052/12 of November 27, 2012, from the General Directorate of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Note of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the OAS, No. 15 of January 31, 2013. Note of the Permanent Mission of Chile to the OAS, No. 273 of November 14, 2012, conveying the communication of the Human Rights Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, dated November 12, 2012. Note of the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the OAS, MPC/OEA No. 1525/2012 of October 2, 2012, forwarding the communication of the Foreign Ministry No. DIDHD/GAPDH No. 1304/633/2012 dated October 1, 2012. Additionally, official information received in the course of the in loco visit of the Inter-American Commission from December 3-7, 2012. Note of the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the OAS, CROEA No. 12-176 dated November 2, 2012. Note of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the OAS, No. 4-2-385/2012 of September 28, 2012, forwarding the “Report on the Status of Preventive Detention in Ecuador,” written by the Ministry of Justice Human Rights and Worship. Note of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the OAS, No. 250/2012 of November 21, 2012; and information submitted via e-mail Continues…