A/74/148 unequivocally outlaws any direct perpetration, instigation or other encouragement of domestic violence by State officials. 22. Positive duty to ensure the right to be free from torture and ill-treatment. In the context of domestic violence, State responsibility for torture and ill -treatment most frequently arises in connection with the violation of its positive duty to ensure human rights by preventing, protecting against, responding to and offering redre ss for abuse perpetrated by private actors (art. 2 in conjunction with art. 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), and in connection with policies and practices that may be regarded as “acquiescence” or “consent” within the meaning of articles 1 and 16 of the Convention against Torture. In particular, States must take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture or ill-treatment in any territory under their jurisdiction (arts. 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture). Failure to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and redress torture and ill-treatment by private perpetrators, including in the context of domestic violence, amounts to consent or acquiescence in to rture or illtreatment (Committee against Torture, general comment No. 2, para. 18). 23. Positive obligations require States to take “effective measures”, both general and individualized, to prevent, protect against, respond to and provide redress for torture and ill-treatment. Those duties do not necessarily entail strict State responsibility for every act of torture or ill-treatment committed by private actors within the State’s jurisdiction, and States are neither expected nor entitled to impose constant surveillance on every family home. Rather, States incur international legal responsibility when they fail to take those measures of prevention, protection and redress that are reasonably available to them and likely to have the desired effect. The State’s positive obligations must be interpreted and complied with in good faith, in line with the spirit and purpose of the prohibition ( A/HRC/37/50, para. 14), and without discrimination of any kind. 24 They can be categorized as follows: (a) General duties. States are required to establish legal provisions, mechanisms and processes that effectively protect people from torture and ill treatment, including in the context of domestic violence. 25 Beyond the direct prevention, investigation and redress of acts of torture and ill -treatment, States must also take appropriate measures to transform societal structures and values that perpetuate and entrench domestic violence (E/CN.4/2006/61, paras. 15–16) and to remedy legal, structural and socioeconomic conditions that may increase exposure to domestic violence by private actors (A/73/207, para. 77 (i)), as well as to establish and facilitate access to services and support for (potential) victims, such as telephone hotlines and online platforms, health care, counselling centres, legal assistance, shelters and financial aid. States must provide particular protection to p ersons in vulnerable situations and establish structures to address the increased risk of torture and ill-treatment that they are exposed to, in line with human rights norms developed to eliminate various forms of discrimination, such as discrimination aga inst women, children and persons with disabilities (A/73/207, para. 64). 26 (b) Operational duties. States must also take effective measures to protect individuals from particular risks of torture or ill-treatment of which they know or ought to know. This requires them to establish avenues and mechanisms for receiving, __________________ 24 25 26 19-11892 Art. 26 and 31 (1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and art. 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For a recent overview of the current state of the national and international normative and institutional framework, see World Bank “Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Domestic Violence” (January 2019), available from Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. Committee against Torture, general comment No. 2 (2008) on implementation of article 2 by States parties, para. 21. 9/23