Part II Preventing torture: NHRIs in action | Section III Acting as a control mechanism Introduction While the Paris Principles do not expressly mention “monitoring” as a key mandate of NHRIs, one of their fundamental roles is to investigate violations of human rights, including those that occur in places of detention. NHRIs can monitor places of detention as part of an overall investigation strategy or as a specific thematic activity. In April 2004, the Consultative Council on Human Rights of Morocco (Conseil consultatif des droits de l’homme) published a report on The Situation in Prisons, based on visits to 50 places of detention. The report provided a detailed analysis of all aspects of detention: material conditions, staff, overcrowding, services provided, contacts with outside world, rehabilitation programmes and activities and the treatment of detainees. NHRIs can establish a regular programme to monitor places of detention, based on the goal of prevention rather than investigation. Regular preventive visits to places of detention constitute one of the most effective means of preventing torture and ill-treatment. Some NHRIs have already established a regular system to monitor places of detention, while others have been designated as national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (read more in chapter 10). The preventive nature of these visits distinguishes them in purpose and methodology from other types of visits that NHRIs may conduct and, in particular, from visits to investigate or document individual complaints made by detainees. Characteristics of preventive visits • Regular visits rather than one-off visits These visits are part of a systematic and ongoing process, which means that visits to any given place of detention will occur on a regular basis. • Proactive rather than reactive These visits take place before, rather than in response to, a specific event or a complaint from a detainee. They can take place at any time, even when there is no apparent problem.38 • Global rather than individual These visits do not attempt to respond to individual cases. Instead the focus is to analyse the place of detention as a system and assess all aspects related to the deprivation of liberty. The aim is to identify those aspects of detention which could lead to the torture or ill-treatment of detainees or other forms of human rights violations. • Based on cooperation rather than denunciation The visits are part of an ongoing and constructive dialogue with the relevant authorities, providing concrete recommendations to improve the detention system over the long term. This chapter outlines a methodology for monitoring places of detention that can be applied by those NHRIs that have the legal mandate to perform this role. There are certain powers that NHRIs require in order to effectively undertake preventive monitoring of detention facilities. These powers have been expressly set out, for the first time, in the Optional Protocol and include: • undertaking regular and unannounced visits to all places of detention • access to all types of places where persons are deprived of their liberty 38 This does not prevent NHRIs from carrying out visits in response to specific events. Chapter 8: Monitoring places of detention | 83