A/HRC/16/2 deprivation of liberty, and that persons charged with torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have no involvement in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any person under arrest, detention, imprisonment or other deprivation of liberty while such charges are pending; (h) Not to punish personnel for not obeying orders to commit or conceal acts amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (i) To protect medical and other personnel for their role in documenting torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and in treating victims of such acts; (j) To ensure appropriate follow-up to conclusions, recommendations, requests for further information and views on individual communications of the relevant treaty bodies, including the Committee against Torture and the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture; (k) To adopt a gender-sensitive approach in the fight against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, paying special attention to genderbased violence that constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (l) To become parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as a matter of priority, and to give early consideration to signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol thereto and to designating or establishing truly independent and effective national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in a timely manner; 8. Reminds States that: (a) Intimidation and coercion, as described in article 1 of the Convention against Torture, including serious and credible threats, as well as death threats, to the physical integrity of the victim or of a third person can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or to torture; (b) Prolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment, and urges all States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and the dignity of the person and to ensure that secret places of detention and interrogation are abolished; 9. Welcomes the reports of the Committee against Torture and the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture; 10. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and calls upon the Board of the Fund to report to the Human Rights Council in accordance with its annual programme of work; 11. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure, within the overall budgetary framework of the United Nations, the provision of an adequate and stable level of staffing and the necessary facilities and resources for the Special Rapporteur, commensurate with the strong support expressed by Member States for preventing and combating torture and assisting victims of torture; 12. Recognizes the global need for international assistance to victims of torture, stresses the importance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and appeals to all Governments, organizations and individuals to contribute annually to the Fund, preferably with a substantial increase in GE.11-17059 55