A/HRC/28/29 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 67/166 on human rights in the administration of justice, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, and the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session, a report on the latest developments, challenges and good practices in human rights in the administration of justice, analysing the international legal and institutional framework for the protection of all persons deprived of their liberty and the activities undertaken by the United Nations system as a whole. The report (A/68/261) was considered by the Council at its twenty-fourth session. In its resolution 24/12, the Council called upon States to ensure that anyone deprived of his or her liberty has prompt access to a competent court, encouraged States to address overcrowding in detention facilities, and urged States to endeavour to reduce pretrial detention. 2. In its resolution 24/12, the Human Rights Council also decided to convene a panel discussion on the protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, within the framework of agenda item 3, to be held at its twenty-seventh session. The Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to consult with States, relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms, in particular the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as with civil society and other stakeholders, with a view to ensuring their contribution to the panel discussion. It also requested OHCHR to prepare a report on the outcome of the panel discussion in the form of a summary, to be presented to the Council at its twenty-eighth session. II. Opening statement by the Director of the Research and Right to Development Division, Office of the High Commissioner 3. In her opening remarks on 10 September 2014, the Director of the Research and Right to Development Division, Jane Connors, reminded participants that some 10 million people around the world were currently subjected to various forms of detention. Of these, women in particular were at a high risk of human rights violations, as were children, migrants and members of minorities. 4. Ms. Connors pointed out that international law provided a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of persons deprived of their liberty whatever the grounds for their detention, but that challenges remained with regard to national implementation of those internationally accepted norms. She also outlined some of the main issues to be addressed in order to ensure that the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty were better protected: lack of adequate judicial oversight regarding the treatment, conditions and legality of detention; overuse of detention, including of pretrial detention; and as a consequence, overcrowding and poor conditions of detention. 5. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights required States to implement judicial oversight and complaints mechanisms. Article 9, paragraph 4 of the Covenant codified the right of anyone under arrest or detention to initiate proceedings before a court, and required that a prompt decision be made on the lawfulness of detention and that release be ordered should detention be found to be unlawful. Such safeguards were vital but too often ignored. 6. Ms. Connors underlined the fact that, although the Covenant stipulates that pretrial detention must be exceptional and for as short a period as possible, an estimated 3 million people were behind bars awaiting trial. In some countries, pretrial detention was employed 3