CAT/C/69/3 C. Visits conducted during the reporting period 16. Although the Subcommittee had planned, in accordance with its mandate under articles 11 to 13 of the Optional Protocol, to undertake 10 official visits in 2019, it was able to undertake only seven: to Switzerland (27 January–7 February), Costa Rica (3–14 March), Sri Lanka (2–12 April), Senegal (5–16 May), Ghana (26 May–1 June), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (8–19 September) and Cabo Verde (29 September–10 October). Due to financial difficulties of the United Nations, the planned visits to Bulgaria (13–24 October) and to Paraguay had to be postponed until 2020. The planned visit to the State of Palestine (5–12 April) was not possible for administrative reasons unrelated to the State party or the Subcommittee, and has been delayed sine die. The fact that the Subcommittee was unable to undertake the three visits explains the smaller number of visits undertaken during 2019. 17. During the course of its official visits in 2019, the Subcommittee conducted more than 950 individual or collective interviews with more than 1,500 persons, mainly with detainees but also with officials, law enforcement personnel and medical staff. It visited, inter alia, 45 prisons, including female facilities, 57 police stations, 4 juvenile detention centres, 8 psychiatric and health-care institutions, 10 closed centres for undocumented migrants and 10 other places of deprivation of liberty, such as closed rehabilitation centres, court cells, prayer camps and closed Qur’anic schools. 18. Further factual information will be made available in the press releases issued following each visit and at sessions of the Subcommittee.4 D. Dialogue arising from visits, including publication of the Subcommittee’s reports by State parties and national preventive mechanisms 19. The substantive aspects of the dialogue arising from visits are confidential. Reports are made public only with the consent of the recipient. By the end of 2019, the Subcommittee had transmitted a total of 87 visit reports to State, including within the reporting period to Belize, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica (including to the national preventive mechanism), Kyrgyzstan (including to the national preventive mechanism), Liberia, Morocco and Poland (including the national preventive mechanism). 20. A total of 51 visit reports have been made public following requests from State parties or national preventive mechanisms under article 16 (2) of the Optional Protocol, including seven in 2019, namely the reports addressed to the State party arising from the visits of the Subcommittee to Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Uruguay, and the reports addressed to the national preventive mechanisms of Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan and Portugal. While fully respecting the principle and right of confidentiality provided for in the Optional Protocol, the Subcommittee welcomes the greater number of visit reports that are being published, believing that this reflects the spirit of transparency on which preventive visiting is based and facilitates better implementation of the respective recommendations. The Subcommittee encourages the recipients of reports to request their publication. 21. In conformity with established practice, the recipients of reports are requested to submit a written reply within six months of their transmission, giving a full account of the action taken and that will be taken to implement the recommendations contained in the reports. During the reporting period, the Subcommittee received such replies from Portugal, Turkey and Uruguay. 22. During the reporting period, the Subcommittee held advance preparatory meetings with each of the State parties scheduled for a visit and, in accordance with established practice, invited each State party that it visited to meet with the Subcommittee at the subsequent session to discuss how best to advance the post-visit dialogue. 4 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/newssearch.aspx?MID=Sub_Committ_Torture. 5