A/HRC/31/L.26/Rev.1
necessary, the presence and services of a properly qualified interpreter during interrogation
sessions;
(e)
Records of interrogation sessions during police custody and pretrial
detention, including their duration and the intervals between sessions, as well as the identity
of the law enforcement official who conduct the interrogations and other persons present,
are kept accurately and that such records are stored safely;
(f)
Rules are in place to obligate law enforcement officials to report instances of
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to their superior
authorities, with appropriate sanctions for non-reporting, and, where necessary, that
independent organs are vested with reviewing or remedial power;
(g)
Consideration is given at all times to the personal circumstances of the
interrogated person;
13.
Stresses that States must ensure that no statement that is established to have
been made as a result of torture is invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a
person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made, urges States to extend
that prohibition to statements made as a result of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, and recognizes that adequate corroboration of statements, including
confessions, used as evidence in any proceedings constitutes one safeguard for the
prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
14.
Calls upon States to include education and information regarding the absolute
prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the
training of law enforcement personnel, which may include training on, inter alia, the use of
force and all available modern scientific methods for crime investigation and the critical
importance of reporting instances of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment to superior authorities;
15.
Emphasizes that it is important, for the ability of law enforcement officials to
play their role in safeguarding the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, that States ensure the proper functioning of
the criminal justice system, particularly by taking effective measures for combating
corruption, establishing proper legal aid programmes and providing adequate selection,
training and remuneration of law enforcement officials;
16.
Stresses that inspections of places of police custody and pretrial detention by
an independent authority contribute to the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, and that, to be fully effective, such visits should be
regular and able to be made unannounced, and the authority should be empowered to
examine all issues related to the treatment of persons in police custody and pretrial
detention and to interview detained persons in full confidentiality, subject to reasonable
conditions to ensure security and good order in such places;
17.
Emphasizes that States are obligated to ensure that any person who alleges to
have been subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to the competent
authorities, and that steps are taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are
protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his or her complaint
or any evidence given;
18.
Stresses that an independent, competent domestic authority must promptly,
effectively and impartially investigate all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, as well as wherever there is reasonable ground to
believe that such an act has been committed, and that those who encourage, instigate, order,
tolerate, acquiesce in, consent to or perpetrate such acts must be held responsible, brought
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