A/HRC/13/31 220. According to reports received, the Government of Germany was reluctant to investigate thoroughly allegations of enforced disappearance connected to renditions by claiming confidentiality on national security or State secrecy. Prosecutors in Germany investigated cases of abductions and other crimes carried out on their territories or against their nationals which led to extradition requests. It reportedly failed to undertake effective, independent and impartial investigation into the role of State officials and the use of State territory in connection with enforced disappearance. Reportedly, investigations and determinations of human rights complaints in cases of rendition and secret detention were blocked by the Government. No remedies have been provided for the victims and their families, which includes, in some cases, the establishment of the fate and whereabouts of people who have disappeared. Reply from the Government 221. On 1 October 2009, a response was received from the Government denying these allegations, stating that neither the German Government nor the national services under its control have participated in the alleged practices or approved them. 222. An independent investigation was commissioned by the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry and the final report was presented to, and adopted by, the German Bundestag on 18 June 2009. According to the conclusion, out of 20 alleged renditions, only 2 cases could be proved. In both cases the Government was informed only after the rendition of the persons. German authorities had no direct or indirect involvement in the flights or in the preceding arrests. Evidence of further flights could not be produced. 223. The assertion that secret detention centres existed on German federal territory could not be confirmed in the investigations conducted by the independent investigator and the Committee of Inquiry. The existence of secret detention centres on German territory must therefore be denied. 224. Concerning the claim that German authorities provided foreign intelligence services with information that resulted in people becoming victims of enforced disappearance, the Government of Germany stated that the exchange of information between German security agencies and the intelligence agencies of allied States takes place exclusively within the framework of the relevant legal admissibility requirements. 225. Furthermore, the Government of Germany has been informed about four cases of renditions or enforced disappearances concerning the Federal Republic of Germany. The German authorities did not directly or indirectly participate in arresting these persons or in rendering them for imprisonment. In two cases the German missions responsible for consular assistance had no knowledge of their imprisonment and were therefore unable to ensure that their rights were observed or guarantee consular protection; in another two cases the German authorities worked intensively to guarantee consular protection. However, they were denied access to the detainees and were thereby prevented from effectively exercising consular protection. 226. Regarding the measures adopted to guarantee an effective judicial remedy to people deprived of their liberty and the access of the competent authorities to their places of detention, the Government stated that the public prosecutor’s office immediately initiated a preliminary investigation on 19 July 2005 when suspicions emerged concerning the rendition of one person. This investigation not only aimed at reconstructing the facts, but also strove to provide the competent authorities with access to persons deprived of their liberty. As soon as the Government became aware that German nationals had been arrested by other States, it engaged in bilateral negotiations in order to guarantee their rights and to secure their release as soon as possible. These negotiations took place within the scope of public international law and primarily by exercising consular protection. 52 GE.09-17704