A/62/221 police, prison guard, prosecutor or judge and is usually denied or simply unavailable for detainees because of lack of money or lack of independent specialists or facilities. 51. The end result is that many of the alleged victims, who are found by the Special Rapporteur to have made credible allegations of torture on the basis of evidence corroborated by forensic evaluations, are left with no recourse in having their complaints effectively investigated. Indeed, in the course of country visits, the Special Rapporteur has alerted the authorities of the need to immediately investigate and prosecute such cases and has sought information on follow-up measures taken by Governments. Likewise, in transmitting to Governments urgent appeals and allegation letters concerning alleged torture and ill-treatment, the Special Rapporteur regularly inquires into the details and results of medical examinations carried out pursuant to investigations. Regrettably, very little follow-up information in this regard is ever provided and Governments usually dismiss complaints of torture because of alleged “lack of credibility of criminals”, without having made any serious attempt to investigate such complaints. 52. Effective documentation aims to bring evidence of torture and ill-treatment to light so that perpetrators may be held accountable. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, lack of investigation together with impunity is the principal cause of the perpetuation of torture and ill-treatment. The inability to tackle it effectively will continue to encourage its practice. If States are serious about combating impunity for torture, they will improve the quality of their criminal investigations through effective documentation of evidence of torture. 53. In line with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/26, the Special Rapporteur encourages Governments to establish thorough, prompt and impartial investigation and documentation procedures as reflected in the Istanbul Protocol. In particular, he recommends the following: (a) Complaints about torture should be recorded in writing, and a forensic medical examination (including, if appropriate, by a forensic psychiatrist) should be immediately ordered. Such an approach should be followed whether or not the person concerned bears visible external injuries. Even in the absence of an express allegation of ill-treatment, a forensic medical examination should be requested whenever there are other grounds to believe that a person could have been the victim of ill-treatment; (b) Access to forensic expertise should not be subject to prior authorization by an investigating authority; (c) Forensic medical services should be under judicial or another independent authority, not under the same governmental authority as the police and the penitentiary system; (d) Public forensic medical services should not have a monopoly on expert forensic evidence for judicial purposes; (e) An independent forensic expert should be part of any credible factfinding or prevention mechanism. 54. In addition, the Special Rapporteur encourages the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as other relevant international and non-governmental organizations and Governments with established forensic 07-45686 11