A/HRC/19/47 contributing factor in the willingness of law enforcement agencies to use torture in order to coerce confessions from detainees, particularly conflict-related detainees. 41. Afghanistan is a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and its Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights essential to a fair trial, including the right to counsel, the presumption of innocence and prohibition against the use of torture and arbitrary detention. In spite of such legal provisions, detainees lack access to remedial mechanisms where they can seek redress for human rights violations or challenge the legality of their arrest or detention. Government ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, began a process to reform the Criminal Procedure Code, however, progress has been slow. Many reforms designed to address the shortcomings of the criminal justice system have also been identified within the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and National Priority Program (NPP) on Law and Justice for All. These would include more responsible custodial measures (detainee case tracking system, forensic evidence collection and preservation mechanisms and the introduction of remedies for unlawful detention) which, if fully implemented, could improve the availability of legal safeguards and effective remedies for detainees. 42. Another weakness in the justice system is the difficulty that detainees encounter to access legal counsel at all stages of the criminal justice process. Despite the constitutional guarantee for Afghans to have access to legal counsel from the moment of arrest, many detainees lack meaningful access to defence counsel. Currently there are around 300 lawyers providing legal aid for criminal cases in 25 provinces in Afghanistan. Despite the increase in the number of legal aid lawyers, most are based primarily in provincial capitals with almost no representation at district level. Legal aid is only targeted towards women and children, although more than 90 per cent of the detainees are adult men. Legal aid providers have limited access to many detention facilities, including those of the NDS and ANP. Due to lack of access to detainees, there is an increasing practice of legal aid providers defending cases in absentia. OHCHR/UNAMA has supported mechanisms for referring cases to legal aid providers, and has been working closely with legal aid providers and Government to ensure that defense attorneys have access to clients in all detention facilities. 43. On 10 October 2011, OHCHR/UNAMA issued its report8 on the mistreatment of conflict-related detainees held in custody by the NDS and ANP. Based on interviews of 379 pre-trial detainees at 47 facilities in 22 provinces from October 2010 to August 2011, of which 324 were being held under suspicion of committing conflict-related offences, OHCHR/UNAMA identified the interrogation techniques used by NDS and ANP that constitute torture under international and Afghan law, as well as other forms of abuse. Almost half (125 detainees or 46 per cent) of the 273 conflict-related detainees held by NDS that OHCHR/UNAMA interviewed had experienced torture and 41 (35 per cent) of the 117 detainees held by the ANP had experienced torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. While the report does not establish that torture was being used as a matter of Government policy, OHCHR/UNAMA found compelling evidence that torture was being practised systematically in five NDS facilities and multiple credible allegations of torture in two other NDS facilities. OHCHR/UNAMA received the full cooperation of NDS and the Ministry of Interior (MoI) throughout its monitoring, particularly as regards access to NDS and MoI facilities. Prior to and following the release of the report, OHCHR/UNAMA held a series of meetings with the Afghan authorities to discuss the findings of the report and support that OHCHR/UNAMA could provide to address the problems highlighted in the 8 See OHCHR/UNAMA, Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghan Custody, Kabul, October 2011. 13