A/HRC/13/42* page 23 be in danger of being subjected to torture.43 The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance state that the principle of non-refoulement applies to the risk of enforced disappearances. Article 17, paragraph 1, of the International Convention provides that “no State party shall expel, return (‘refouler’), surrender or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to enforced disappearance.” The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has argued that the risk of arbitrary detention in the country of destination, which includes secret detention, should prohibit the transfer of a person into the jurisdiction of the receiving State as well.44 Diplomatic assurances from the receiving State for the purpose of overcoming the obstacle of the non-refoulement principle do not release States from their obligations under international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, in particular the principle of non-refoulement.45 6. Secret detention and derogations from international human rights 44. Article 4, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights permits States to derogate from certain rights contained therein “in times of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation”. However, this provision subjects such measures to a number of procedural and substantive safeguards regarding derogation measures: the State must have officially proclaimed a state of emergency; the derogation measures must be limited to those strictly required by the exigencies of the situation; they must not be inconsistent with other international obligations of the State; and they must not be discriminatory. In its general comment No. 29,46 the Human Rights Committee highlighted the exceptional and temporary character of derogations, stating that the Covenant required that, even during an armed conflict, measures derogating from the Covenant were allowed only if and to the extent that the situation constituted a threat to the life of the nation. Derogation measures must be lifted as soon as the public emergency or armed conflict ceases to exist. Most importantly, derogation measures must be “strictly required” by the emergency situation. This requirement of proportionality implies that derogations cannot be justified when the same aim could be achieved through less intrusive means. 45. Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Covenant lists certain rights that cannot be derogated from, including the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 7). 43 Convention against Torture, art. 3. See also the comments of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (A/59/324). 44 A/HRC/4/40, para. 47. 45 General Assembly resolution 63/166, para. 15; Human Rights Council resolution 8/8, para. 6 (d). See also A/HRC/4/40, paras. 52-56 and E/CN.4/2006/6. 46 CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11, para. 3.