A/HRC/45/27 officials, which can partially or entirely shield them from accountability for serious violations of human rights.7 10. Many of the allegations regarding violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the context of counter-terrorism operations relate to torture and illtreatment. The Committee against Torture has repeatedly stressed that torture cannot be justified under any circumstances.8 The Human Rights Committee has also highlighted the fact that the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment also extends to threats of terrorism, which therefore cannot be invoked to justify the use of torture to extract information from suspected terrorists. 9 It has recalled that complaints of ill-treatment must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially by the competent authorities and appropriate action must be taken against those found guilty.10 11. Credible judicial accountability for human rights violations committed in the context of countering terrorism remains partial and piecemeal.11 Inadequate responses to violations of human rights occurring in the context of countering terrorism undermine the effectiveness of the entire approach and fail to deliver a coherent deterrent against serious human rights violations committed in the future by State officials and agents. Especially in conflict and post-conflict settings, such practices are also detrimental to achieving sustainable peace and security. B. Impediments to criminal accountability 12. Accountability for terrorism-related crimes and violations of human rights can and should be ensured through a variety of complementary forms. Many States have prioritized criminal accountability as the main, and sometimes only, accountability path for terrorismrelated offences. While criminal prosecution represents an important form of legal protection, it should be complemented by other mechanisms that address additional imperatives and more fully address the rights of victims. 13. The Security Council has called on Member States to assess and investigate suspected individuals whom they have reasonable grounds to believe are terrorists, including suspected foreign terrorist fighters and their accompanying family members, including spouses and children, entering those Member States’ territories, to develop and implement comprehensive risk assessments for those individuals, and to take appropriate action, including by considering appropriate prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration measures, and has emphasized that Member States should ensure that they take all such action in compliance with domestic and international law. 12 A variety of accountability measures have proven significant in a few country contexts to redress and prevent violations of human rights.13 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 For example, A/HRC/43/46/Add.1, paras. 45–47; Cecilia Polizzi, “The crime of terrorism: an analysis of criminal justice processes and accountability of minors recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham”, UC Davis Journal of International Law and Policy, vol. 24, No. 1 (2018), pp. 26–27; www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A-HRC-37-CRP-3.pdf, pp. 9–12; and A/HRC/38/44/Add.1, paras. 56–58. Committee against Torture, general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2, paras. 3, 6, 19 and 25. Lupiañez Mintegi v. Spain (CCPR/C/125/D/2657/2015), para. 9.3. Ibid, paras. 9.8 and 11. For example, Human Rights Watch, World Report 2015: Events of 2014 (2015), p. 483; Amnesty International, Stars on their shoulders. Blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military (London, 2015), pp. 10 and 42; CCPR/C/CMR/CO/5, para. 25; CCPR/C/ROU/CO/5, paras. 33–34; S/2019/454, para. 49; https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-24.pdf; and A/HRC/43/76, paras. 31–33. Security Council resolution 2396 (2017), para. 29. See also Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), para. 4. For example, A/HRC/36/50/Add.1, paras. 7, 14 and 22.