CAT/C/ARG/CO/5-6 which do not appear to meet the independence criteria required under the Optional Protocol to the Convention. The Committee is further concerned that local mechanisms are operational in only six provinces and that some of them face serious budgetary challenges in carrying out their mandate (art. 2). 26. The Committee urges the State party to proceed with the formation of the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture and to ensure that its members are elected by means of a transparent and inclusive process, in accordance with the criteria for independence, gender balance, representativeness of the population, suitability and recognized capacity in various multidisciplinary areas, including the law and health care (see article 18 of the Optional Protocol and CAT/OP/12/5, paras. 17-20). To that end, the State party should refrain from appointing members who occupy positions that might give rise to conflicts of interest (CAT/OP/ARG/1, para. 16). The Committee also urges the State party to proceed with the process of setting up local mechanisms in conformity with the criteria set out above and to provide them with the necessary resources to carry out their functions. Bodies monitoring detention conditions and prevention of torture 27. While welcoming the existence of various bodies at federal and provincial level that engage in the prevention of torture and monitor detention conditions, the Committee is concerned that the staff of the Prison System Ombudsman, who are responsible for the functioning of the mechanism for the prevention of torture in prisons under national and federal authority (Act No. 26827, art. 32), are denied entry to places of detention in Córdoba province to monitor the conditions of federal prisoners being held there. The Committee also regrets that the National Public Defender Service and other public defender services, such as that in Santa Fe, face similar obstacles in their work of defending detainees (art. 11). 28. The State party should ensure that all detention facilities, including police facilities, undergo periodic, independent inspections and should facilitate access to such facilities by bodies mandated to protect the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty. The State party should also guarantee that such bodies can freely gain access to any available information on detainees, including information contained in court files, and can undertake without hindrance the defence of victims of institutional violence. Investigation of claims of torture and ill-treatment 29. While the Committee appreciates that some progress has been made with regard to measures taken to investigate cases of torture, such as the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Institutional Violence (see para. 6 (c) above), and with regard to some judicial proceedings as a result of complaints submitted by civil society and monitoring bodies, it reiterates the concern that it expressed in its previous concluding observations (see CAT/C/CR/33/1, paras. 6 (b) and (c)) with regard to the situation of impunity that persists, despite a large number of documented cases. According to reports received, this situation is due to inadequate judicial investigations, which failed to support the versions given by the victims, and the tendency of judicial officials to adhere to the official version given by police and prison officers and to wrongly classify the acts in question as lesser offences. The Committee is also concerned about the reluctance of victims and witnesses to speak out for fear of reprisals, owing to the lack of a mechanism that would provide them with protection, particularly if they are in detention (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). 30. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Ensure that all claims of torture or ill-treatment are investigated promptly and impartially by an independent body, with no institutional or hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators. The State party should, in that connection, consider establishing an independent judicial police force under the authority of the Attorney General’s Office, as recommended by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (CAT/OP/ARG/1, para. 110); GE.17-08409 7