Addressing situations of vulnerability of LGBT persons deprived of liberty: What role for NPMs? In line with their preventive mandate, NPMs can play a vital role in strengthening the protection of LGBT persons deprived of their liberty through their detention visits and reports as well as through their broader role which extends beyond problems identified in places of detention. The mission of NPMs is to identify the root causes of torture and other ill-treatment, as well as the gaps in legislative frameworks and current practices. NPMs can make recommendations to the authorities and establish dialogue and cooperation with them to facilitate their implementation. They can also submit comments on existing legislation and policies to strengthen the protection of LGBT persons deprived of their liberty against torture and other ill-treatment. In order to fight against discrimination in detention facilities it is essential that NPMs develop an internal culture of non-discrimination and openness. To this end, NPMs should implement zero tolerance policies towards all forms of discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and ensure that the composition of monitoring teams is as diverse as possible. Visits to places of detention Visit preparations All participants agreed that there is a glaring lack of information and data on LGBT persons deprived of their liberty. A discussion followed on how best to prepare detention visits in the absence of comprehensive information and data on LGBT detainees. While the use of a questionnaire was identified as a good practice, participants noted that it would be difficult to implement in all contexts and that, in the case of the UK, it was only one element of a complex methodology developed over the years by the UK prevention mechanism. Moreover, in many countries, posing 21