Home  OPCAT National Mechanisms
|
National Preventive Mechanisms |
|
|
|
|
The entry into force of the OPCAT in June 2006 established for the first time a double pillar of prevention of torture, based on an international body (the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture), and national visiting bodies, National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs). Both international and national bodies have the mandate to conduct regular visits to places of detention as well as to make recommendations and observations to the government and relevant authorities to improve the situation of the persons deprived of their liberty.
The OPCAT expressly requires that such NPMs be designated by the States parties, and details some of the basic powers and protections necessary for an NPM to be effective.
The APT has developed an NPM Implementation Kit to assist governments and civil society. The Kit is available in printed and electronic form, and includes some specific guides:
Guide to Establishment and Designation of National Preventive Mechanisms
- Guidance on legal, practical, and technical issues. Available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia (extract), English, French, Macedonian, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Turkish.
- A less-detailed brochure is available in German and Portuguese.
OPCAT Country Status (formerly NPM Country-by-Country Status Report)
- Current information on NPM implementation in each state party or signatory to the OPCAT. English (Update February 2010)
- Country-by-Country Status Report for Africa in French (Update June 2008).
- Resumé of NPM processes in Latin American Countries Spanish
- El proceso de designación del MNP en España - documentos relevantes
Assessment Checklists
- Helps in the evaluation of proposed NPMs with reference to international standards and best practices.
- Comprehensive (46 criteria) and Preliminary (15 criteria) versions available in English, French and Spanish.
Summary of ECPT Recommendations
- Analyzes comments by the Council of Europe’s torture prevention body concerning national mechanisms against torture. English
OPCAT in Federal and other Decentralized States
- Includes advice on special issues likely to arise in implementing the NPM requirement in federal states. English Portuguese Spanish
National Human Rights Commissions and Ombudspersons' Offices / Ombudsmen as NPM - Analyzes the specific legal measures and human and financial resources required by the OPCAT, in cases where the National Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsmen are designated as the NPM. Arabic English French Georgian Spanish
Civil Society and National Preventive Mechanisms - Provides practical and comparative analysis of: the role of civil society in national processes of determining the NPMs, the modalities of participation of civil society organizations in the NPMs and the role of civil society outside the NPMs. Arabic English French Georgian Portuguese Russian Spanish
Monitoring Places of Detention: A Practical Guide For questions about NPMs in general or about the implementation kit, or to provide us with updated information on NPM processes in your country or region, please contact:
Audrey Olivier
OPCAT Coordinator
+41 (22) 919 2172
|
|
|
NPM Updates
Information on the latest NPM designations:
Cyprus and Georgia have recently designated their NPMs - Click for a complete list
APT NPM Activities
Recent activities in: Africa - Benin: the establishment of an effective NPM
- NPM Workshop in Mali
Americas - APT and the UN Subcommittee members in Bolivia
- NPM Advisory Mission to Peru
- Colloquium on the NPM in Paraguay
- The Prevention of Torture in Practice: Seminar and consultation on the implementation in Brazil of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture
- Experts meetings on National Preventive Mechanisms in Mexico
Asia-Pacific - Nepal: National Workshop on Torture Prevention
- Workshop on Implementation of the UNCAT and its Optional Protocol in the Maldives
Europe & Central Asia - NPM advisory visit to Costa Rica & Mexico
- Georgia’s OPCAT implementation
- Implementation of the OPCAT in the United Kingdom: The National Preventive Mechanism
- Armenia: Best Practices of OPCAT Implementation
- A National Preventive Mechanism for Austria
- Albania's obligations under the Optional Protocol
Featured Publication
|
|
|
