Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment A/RES/77/209 imprisonment, which may include training on the use of force, all available modern scientific methods for the investigation of crimes and the critical importance of reporting instances of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to superior authorities; 15. Emphasizes that States shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices, as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under their jurisdiction, and stresses the importance of the development of domestic guidelines on the conduct of interrogations, with a view to preventing any cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; 16. Takes note with appreciation of the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles), and encourages States to use them as appropriate through the implementation of national measures, including non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards, thereby operationalizing the presumption of innocence, ensuring that no person is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during questioning, as well as improving effective policing, criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, convictions and other forms of information-gathering processes; 17. Encourages all States to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to apply the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules); 7 18. Reminds all States that prolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment, and urges all States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and dignity of the person and to ensure that prolonged incommunicado detention and secret places of detention and interrogation are abolished; 19. Emphasizes that conditions of detention must respect the dignity and human rights of persons deprived of their liberty, highlights the importance of reflecting on this in efforts to promote respect for and protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, calls upon States to address and prevent detention conditions amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, notes in this regard concerns about solitary confinement, and encourages States to take effective measures to address overcrowding in detention facilities, which may have an impact on the dignity and human rights of persons deprived of their liberty; 20. Welcomes the establishment of national preventive mechanisms to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, urges States to consider establishing, appointing, maintaining or enhancing independent and effective mechanisms that have experts with the required capabilities and professional knowledge to undertake monitoring visits to places of detention and other places under State jurisdiction and control where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty, inter alia, with a view to preventing acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and calls upon States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 8 to fulfil their obligation to designate or establish national preventive mechanisms at the latest one year after the entry into force of the Protocol __________________ 7 8 22-28950 Resolution 70/175, annex. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2375, No. 24841. 5/10