- 24 54. The CPT recalls that its first visit to Greece took place in March 1993. To date, more than 15 years after that visit, the Committee finds itself in the regrettable position that it has to repeat many of its recommendations concerning the prevention of ill-treatment. For instance, the 1993 recommendations concerning forensic medical examinations in case of allegations of ill-treatment as well as those concerning the application of fundamental safeguards, such as in particular the right of access to a doctor and the right of access to a lawyer, remain as valid today as they were in 1993. Likewise, recommendations intended to fundamentally improve the conditions of detention for irregular migrants have been made in every report since 1997, but have been largely ignored by the Greek authorities. The CPT has gone to great lengths over the years to convince the Greek authorities to implement the Committee’s recommendations. The Committee has visited Greece eight times since 1993 and has also held high-level talks with the Greek authorities on two occasions, most recently in February 2007. Until now, to little avail. Once again, it has become clear to the CPT that there is an urgent need for an unambiguous commitment at the highest level in order to improve the situation in practice. The CPT trusts that the response of the Greek authorities to this visit report will make clear that the recommendations made by the Committee are being properly implemented.