A/HRC/34/54 Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Committee against Torture, the Optional Protocol to the Convention and the Subcommittee, national preventive mechanisms in various countries as well as the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. It also includes the development of standard-setting instruments such as the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol), the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers. It further includes the establishment of a plethora of courageous, competent and effective civil society organizations and, not least, an incessant stream of judicial decisions and resolutions adopted by universal and regional bodies unequivocally condemning any form of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 14. At the same time, the Special Rapporteur cannot ignore a troubling discrepancy between, on the one hand, the professed consensus opinions, solemn declarations and commitments made by States at the diplomatic level and, on the other hand, the disillusioning reality of millions of victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Despite more than three decades of dedicated work of the mandate and countless other international, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are still rampant in most, if not all, parts of the world. The Special Rapporteur observes with alarm that, since the turn of the century, the rise of transnational terrorism, organized crime and other actual or perceived threats has given way to an increasing tolerance of violent political narratives and popular beliefs that not only trivialize torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, but even promote and incite their use in the name of national security and the fight against terrorism. 15. The Special Rapporteur feels compelled to recall that today, after a century marked by two world wars and some of the most outrageous atrocities in human history, thousands of prisoners, war victims, migrants and other vulnerable men, women and children are still being abused, exploited, murdered or simply left to die every day in a no man’s land of indifference; that there are still States openly practising or advocating interrogation methods based on the infliction of excruciating pain and anguish and on the irreparable destruction of human beings; that there are still Governments finding no fault in sacrificing justice for political convenience by choosing not to prosecute officials suspected or known to have resorted to, ordered, justified or enabled the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and that a growing number of States are refusing to subject their citizens to international criminal jurisdiction even for the most barbarous of international crimes. 16. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment may well constitute the most fundamental achievement of mankind, and any tolerance, complacency or acquiescence in such practices, however exceptional and well argued, will inevitably lead down a slippery slope towards complete arbitrariness and brute force, a disgrace for all of humanity. During his tenure, therefore, the primary focus of the Special Rapporteur will be to unequivocally reaffirm the absolute and universal prohibition of all, and any, forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; to further clarify the contours and meaning of these terms in the light of the evolving challenges marking the contemporary international environment; and to call on State and non-State actors alike to renounce, and to prevent impunity for, any such practices. The Special Rapporteur intends to complement 5