A/HRC/52/30 the theme “Open source information: strengthening accountability at the intersection of law, technology and humanitarian space”. 11. On 15 December, the Special Rapporteur participated in the annual forum of the Convention against Torture Initiative. 12. From January to December 2022, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 72 communications, both jointly with other mandate holders and individually on behalf of individuals exposed to torture and other ill-treatment. No country visits were conducted in 2022. An invitation to visit Ukraine was postponed from late 2022 to February 2023 owing to the prevailing security situation. The requests of the Special Rapporteur to visit Chile and South Africa have been accepted. II. Duty to investigate crimes of torture in national law and practice A. Introduction 13. The “duty to investigate” every act of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment starts with foundational legislation establishing that all acts of torture are offences under national law, and continues through stages of complaint and investigation, and concludes with either the prosecution, final judgment and sentencing of alleged offenders or the dismissal of the case based on sound judicial reasoning; or extradition of the accused to be tried in another jurisdiction. Effective investigations and prosecutions acknowledge suffering and bring justice and peace to victims and communities. The duty is closely connected to the right of victims and survivors to a remedy and reparation.2 Prompt, impartial and transparent investigations also have a deterrent and preventive character, helping to improve officer behaviour and build or restore confidence in public administration.3 14. Yet despite the advanced international legal framework, very few incidents of torture or other ill-treatment are officially reported and too many investigations and prosecutions collapse or are withdrawn before their satisfactory conclusion. Investigating crimes of torture is not comparable with investigations into ordinary common crimes. In particular, torture is first and foremost a crime committed or enabled by public officials or, at times, promoted either quietly or outwardly by government policy or direction, or through consent or acquiescence. In making a complaint, an accuser is raising an allegation against the same authorities as those charged with protecting the rights of all individuals under their jurisdiction. This power asymmetry places the victim in a situation of particular precarity. Victims may still be in the custody or under the control of the very authorities against whom they are making allegations. Authorities handling such complaints may lack impartiality or be under pressure to cover up allegations or to destroy evidence. The risk of retaliatory violence, including being disappeared, are real in many contexts. The stakes can be very high. 15. There has been an impressive growth in the type and range of international venues working for justice and remedies for victims and survivors of the crime of torture and holding perpetrators responsible for their crimes. That said, such courts and tribunals have inherent limitations, including jurisdictional limitations, such as prosecuting only those with higher levels of responsibility. It is the view of the Special Rapporteur that justice, accountability, healing and reconciliation will only become a meaningful reality when national actors operate as the primary investigators and prosecutors of acts of torture and other comparable illtreatment. 2 3 GE.23-03126 The present report does not tackle questions of reparations and rehabilitation in full; see Committee against Torture, general comment No. 3 (2012), para. 19; Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 20 (1992), para. 14; and Human Rights Council resolution 22/21. Carver, R. and Handley, L., Does Torture Prevention Work? (Liverpool University Press, 2016), pp. 81–84. 3