172. On the right to medical services, during detention, the African Commission and other international bodies have recognized and emphasizes that such rights be provided “promptly”. The Human Rights Committee, in its General Comment No. 20, has observed that protection of the detainee from torture and ill-treatment requires “prompt and regular access” to doctors.89 The General Assembly has repeatedly underlined the importance of the right to prompt medical examination promptly following detention to prevent abuse of detainees. 173. In the presence of allegations or possible indications of abuse, the importance of prompt access to medical personnel becomes all the more critical. The Istanbul Protocol, a set of detailed guidelines on the investigation of torture and ill-treatment elaborated by an independent group of experts in 1999, recalls that “[t]he investigator should arrange for a medical examination of the alleged victim. The timeliness of such medical examination is particularly important. A medical examination should be undertaken regardless of the length of time since the torture, but if it is alleged to have happened within the past six weeks, such an examination should be arranged urgently before acute signs fade.”90 174. The Robben Island Guidelines in its section 20, urges State Parties to make sure that “all persons who are deprived of their liberty by public prder or authority should have that detention controlled by properly and legally constituted regulations. Such regulations should provide a number of basic 89 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 20 on Article 7 (1992), UN doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev. 6 (1994), p. 151, para. 11 (excerpted in the Annex). 90 Istanbul Protocol – Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 9 August 1999 (reproduced as OHCHR, Professional Training Series No. 8/Rev. 1, UN Doc. HR/P/PT/8/Rev.1, available at http://www.irct.org/Default.aspx?ID=2701), para. 104. See also Principle 2 of the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (annexed to the Istanbul Protocol). See also see.(Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment90 and GA Res. 61/153, 14 February 2007). 51