Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions - Updated Edition Existing NHRIs do not necessarily meet all the requirements of the Optional Protocol. Amendments to legislation, organizational restructuring and the provision of additional human, logistical and financial resources are almost always needed if an existing human rights commission or ombuds institution is to assume the role of NPM. Furthermore, taking up a new mandate with a focus on prevention, rather than protection or investigation, will require the NHRI to review its working methods, structure and professional composition. In some cases, aspects of the NHRI work may make it inappropriate for designation as the NPM. This might be the case for NHRIs that are predominantly reactive in nature, where the main focus is handling individual complaints, or NHRIs which primarily undertake research or human rights education and promotion. The Nairobi Declaration, adopted during the Ninth International Conference of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in October 2008, states that NHRIs should encourage their Governments “to consider their designation as national preventive mechanisms, only if the necessary powers and resources are made available to them.” When an NHRI has been designated as NPM under the OPCAT, its role and functions as NPM are also assessed by the GANHRI SubCommittee on Accreditation (SCA) as part of the Paris Principles accreditation process. There a number of issues that should be examined carefully when considering the designation of an existing NHRI as a NPM, including: • legal basis and having a specific mandate to carry out preventive visits • having sufficient human and financial resources to carry out full programme of regular visits, as well as to cover other aspects of the NPM preventive work, including, inter alia, the production and publication (and possibly translation) of NPM reports, training and awareness-raising activities, communication and participation in international exchanges and other fora • guaranteed access to all types of places of deprivation of liberty • guaranteed access to relevant information • the right to conduct interviews with persons deprived of liberty in private • independence • relevant and multidisciplinary professional expertise • the right to make recommendations to Government and relevant authorities and to receive a considered response • the right to publish reports • necessary privileges and immunities • whether there are other bodies monitoring places of detention. An assessment of these issues can help identify what additional legal measures, restructuring and resources may be required for the NHRI to comply with the OPCAT requirements. Furthermore, the process leading to the designation of the NHRI as NPM should be open, inclusive and transparent. 2. NHRIs designated as NPM Worldwide, the majority of designated NPM are NHRIs or are associated with NHRIs. A few States have created a new specialised institution to serve as NPM.126 126 134 See APT OPCAT Database at www.apt.ch