A/HRC/13/42* page 5 degrading treatment, in contravention of the principle of non-refoulement. Practices such as “hosting” secret detention sites or providing proxy detention have been supplemented by numerous other facets of complicity, including authorizing the landing of airplanes for refuelling, short-term deprivation of liberty before handing over the “suspect”, the covering up of kidnappings, and so on. With very few exceptions, too little has been done to investigate allegations of complicity. Secret detention as such may constitute torture or ill-treatment for the direct victims as well as for their families. The very purpose of secret detention, however, is to facilitate and, ultimately, cover up torture and inhuman and degrading treatment used either to obtain information or to silence people. While in some cases elaborate rules are put in place authorizing “enhanced” techniques that violate international standards of human rights and humanitarian law, most of the time secret detention has been used as a kind of defence shield to avoid any scrutiny and control, making it impossible to learn about treatment and conditions during detention. The generalized fear of secret detention, and its corollaries such as torture and ill-treatment, tends to effectively result in limiting the exercise of a large number of human rights and fundamental freedoms. These include the freedom of expression and the freedom of association, as they often go hand in hand with the intimidation of witnesses, victims and their families. The experts are extremely concerned that many victims of secret detention from many countries around the world indicated their fear of reprisal, against themselves personally or against their families, if they cooperated with the study and/or allowed their names to be used. The injustice done by secretly detaining somebody is prolonged and replicated all too frequently once the victims are released, because the concerned State may try to prevent any disclosure about the fact that secret detention is practiced on its territory. In almost no recent cases have there been any judicial investigations into allegations of secret detention, and practically no one has been brought to justice. Although many victims feel that the secret detention has stolen years of their lives and left an indelible mark, often in terms of loss of their livelihood and frequently their health, they have almost never received any form of reparation, including rehabilitation or compensation. Such a serious human rights violation therefore deserves appropriate action and condemnation. The experts conclude with concrete recommendations that are aimed at curbing the resort to secret detention and the unlawful treatment or punishment of detainees in the context of counter-terrorism: (a) Secret detention should be explicitly prohibited, along with all other forms of unofficial detention. Detention records should be kept, including in times of armed conflict, as required by the Geneva Conventions, and should include the number of detainees, their nationality and the legal basis on which they are being held, whether as prisoners of war or civilian internees. Internal inspections and independent mechanisms should have timely access to all places where persons are deprived of their liberty for monitoring purposes, at all times. In times of armed conflict, the location of all detention facilities should be disclosed to the International Committee of the Red Cross;