Which skills and other requirements should NPM members and staff have?

Methodological Skills:

• Good listener: NPM members and staff conduct interviews with detainees and personnel during their visits to places of deprivation of liberty. In order to create a relationship of trust and be informed about the conditions and treatment in places of deprivation of liberty, NPM members and staff should listen carefully to what is said (and left unsaid) and pay attention to details.
• Observation skills: NPM members and staff should observe, listen, smell and feel everything around them in places of deprivation of liberty. This will enable them to have a sound analysis of the situation, detect any possible irregularities or good practice and make appropriate recommendations. Observation is an essential skill to be able to triangulate information.
• Writing skills: The members and staff of NPMs are required to write concise and analytical reports (including visit, thematic and annul reports), which contain findings and clear recommendations. Good reports are not only the institutional memory of an NPM but also an effective tool for dialogue with state authorities and for the sensitization of the public on issues related to detention.  
• Analytical skills: The NPM members and staff gather a large amount of information (documents, interview data, statistics, etc.). It is important to verify and analyze this data before reaching conclusions and drafting recommendations. The NPM team should be able to process the information obtained in an objective manner and translate it into specific and accurate recommendations.

Personal Characteristics:

• Communications skills: NPM members communicate with senior state authorities, personnel, detainees, families of detainees and, in some cases, victims of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. They should be professional, empathetic and capable of building a rapport with these and other types of people.
• Group dynamics and team players: NPM members and staff should act as a team. NPMs are usually created by a group of people with diverse expertise and backgrounds who have not previously worked together. Nevertheless, they should foster positive group dynamics, which will enable them to work together in developing a strategy, identifying priorities and modalities of work, conducting visits, writing reports and making recommendations as a team.
• Respect and sensitivity: visits to places of deprivation of liberty affect the daily working pattern of each place. Therefore, members and staff should be respectful and mindful of the rules and regulations of each place they visit. During visits, members and staff of an NPM should also show respect to the living spaces of detainees (such as cells).
• Consideration of vulnerabilities: NPM members and staff should be able to detect situations of vulnerability, give them special attention and assess whether or not specific measures are required to uphold the human rights of those at risk.
• Availability and flexibility: being a member or staff of an NPM is a demanding job. It requires the flexibility and availability to conduct visits (including sometimes) at night and during weekends. It also requires going on long visits (one to two weeks in some cases) and in areas or regions far from home and sometimes in difficult conditions (including in relation to both accommodation and transportation). Members and staff of NPMs should consider these unusual work circumstances and deal with them with flexibility and a sense of responsibility.
• Integrity to the institution: each member or staff of the NPM represents the NPM and its priorities and methodology of work. Members and staff should focus on the implementation of the NPM objectives, not those of other institutions or originations -e.g. NGOs, government departments etc.
• Human rights-based approach: there are a number of specific treaties and guidelines on the rights of persons deprived of liberty and the rights of persons in situation of vulnerability. NPM members and staff should adopt a comprehensive human rights-based approach, aiming to protect the human rights of all those deprived of liberty, without discrimination, and to uphold the inherent dignity of all as the benchmark for evaluating conditions and treatment of persons deprived of liberty.