The CAT further clarified the nature and extent of State responsibility for acts of torture or ill-treatment committed by non-State actors in its recent General Comment No. 2. The Committee, recognising that indifference or inaction by the State can provide encouragement or de facto permission for torture and illtreatment, stated that “where State authorities or others acting in official capacity or under color of law, know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment are being committed by non-State officials or private actors and they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors consistently with [the] Convention, the State bears responsibility and its officials should be considered as authors, complicit or otherwise responsible under the Convention for consenting to or acquiescing in such impermissible acts.”53 The Committee drew particular attention to the application of this principle as regards gender-based violence, including rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation and trafficking.54 1 UN TREATY BODIES in the sense of Article 16 of the Convention, which prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.51 In its decision, the Committee reiterated that in the context of other States it had previously expressed its concern at reports of failure by police and law-enforcement officials to provide adequate protection against racially motivated attacks.52 The decision confirms that State failure to take steps to prevent torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or to prosecute private individuals responsible for such acts, can constitute acquiescence, giving rise to accountability under the UNCAT. 1.2.2 Duty to investigate Under both the UNCAT and the ICCPR, States parties have a duty to investigate allegations of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. – UNCAT Article 12 of the UNCAT provides: “Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to Ibid. §9.2. The CAT referred to its Concluding Observations on the initial report of Slovakia, UN Doc. A/56/44 (2001), §104; Concluding Observations on the second periodic report of Czech Republic, UN Doc. A/56/44 (2001), §113; and Concluding Observations on the second periodic report of Georgia, UN Doc. CAT/56/44 (2001), §81. 53 CAT, General Comment No. 2, §18. 54 Ibid. 51 52 15