A/HRC/13/42* page 17 article 9 of the Covenant is charged with an offence but not brought to trial, the prohibitions of unduly delaying trials as provided for by article 9, paragraph 3, and article14, paragraph 3 (c) of the Covenant may be violated at the same time.18 26. As the present study shows, in the majority of cases, State authorities who arrest and detain people incommunicado in a secret location often do not intend to charge the detainee with any crime, or even to inform him or her about any charges or to put the person on trial without undue delay before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law where the guilt or innocence of the accused could be established, in violation of article 14, paragraphs 1 (clause 2), 2, 3 (a) and (c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Such detainees do not have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence, and cannot communicate freely with counsel of their own choosing as required by article 14, paragraph 3 (c) of the Covenant. 27. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has considered secret detention a violation of the right to fair trial.19 Certain practices inherent in secret detention, such as the use of secrecy and insecurity caused by denial of contact to the outside world and the family’s lack of knowledge of the whereabouts and fate of the detainee to exert pressure to confess to a crime, also infringe the right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess guilt derived from the principle of presumption of innocence.20 Secret detention is furthermore conducive to confessions obtained under torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 3. Secret detention and enforced disappearance 28. Every instance of secret detention also amounts to a case of enforced disappearance. Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance defines enforced disappearance as: The arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law. This definition does not require intent to put the person concerned outside the protection of the law as a defining element, but rather refers to it as an objective consequence of the denial, refusal or concealment of the whereabouts and fate of the person.21 The International Convention, in its 18 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 32 (CCPR/C/GC/32), para. 61. 19 Opinions No. 5/2001 (E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.1), para. 10 (iii) and No. 14/2009 (A/HRC/13/30/Add.1). 20 21 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14, para. 2. See also the preamble to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.