A/HRC/8/13 page 13 law and without due process may lead to a number of human rights violations, notably infringements of the right to liberty and security of the person, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, the right to recognition everywhere as an individual before the law, the right to a fair trial, the right to private and family life, and the right to an effective remedy. Depending on the circumstances, it may amount to an enforced disappearance. 36. In my previous reports, I have also expressed my concern about the use of unlawful rendition or transfers across borders of suspected terrorists who are considered to pose a security risk without judicial oversight and review prior to transfer. States should as a minimum satisfy their positive obligations under the different treaties and standards and ensure that they are not complicit in the practice of rendition through adopting a number of practical procedures. States have an obligation to investigate the role of its agents (both military and intelligence) who may have been involved in directly or indirectly assisting or facilitating these renditions. This requires the State to sanction those that are responsible and provide reparation for the victims. 37. Concerns raised in recent years regarding improper transfers of terrorist suspects, including so-called renditions, have not been fully addressed; indeed, appropriately transparent investigations remain a priority. In my view, a more comprehensive legal system of control should be put in to prevent the improper and illegal use of air traffic which would be an important way to put an end to such transfers. States have a responsibility to ensure that their airspace is not used unlawfully, be it by their own agents, foreign agents, or a combination of both. Assurances by transferring States that there will be compliance with international and national laws have been shown, in reality, not to offer sufficient guarantees in this respect. As a result, more rigorous approaches should be put in place in order to ensure there is no impunity on this question.8 38. It is axiomatic in theory, but too often neglected in practice, that detainees suspected of terrorist acts and prisoners should benefit from all safeguards and guarantees given to other detainees or prisoners. They should be dealt with, without discrimination, in accordance with international human rights laws and national legislations that guarantee humane treatment. 39. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance provides that no one should be subjected to enforced disappearance and that each State party should take appropriate measures to ensure that enforced disappearance constitutes an offence under its criminal law. Incommunicado detention and over-incarceration, “extraordinary rendition” and the use of secret prisons in the context of any type of counter-terrorist campaign whether a threat of war, a state of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, cannot be invoked to justify enforced disappearances. The Convention affirms the right of any victim to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance, and the fate of the disappeared person, and the right to freedom to seek, receive and impart information. States parties should take specific and effective measures to prevent the disappearance of individuals and establish facilities and procedures to investigate thoroughly, by 8 Following the approach of the Human Rights Committee in Alzery v. Sweden (communication 1416/2005).