THE NATIONAL AGENCY IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT Commission for the Prevention of Torture of Switzerland. This led to the idea of calling a meeting of the preventive mechanisms of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. A first meeting involving all three bodies will be held in Berlin in the course of 2014. Strasbourg on 21/22 November 2013 at the invitation of the UK’s national preventive mechanism and the Council of Europe. It was attended by representatives from the Joint Commission. As well as the Head of the Migration Coordination Division of the Council of Europe, representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and of nearly all the national preventive mechanisms of the Member States of the Council of Europe attended the conference. First, key problems of custody pending detention were identified and discussed, including access to a legal advisor, especially vulnerable groups in custody pending detention, such as women and children, health care provision, as well as safety and order. Specific challenges which the national preventive mechanisms are faced with when monitoring such facilities were also discussed. On the second day participants discussed the need to develop minimum standards at Council of Europe level. Various bodies of rules and guidelines already exist for custody pending detention. However, it was felt to be expedient and necessary to summarise those rules and principles which were already available and to specify them more precisely. Given that most detainees awaiting deportation are deported on the basis of Dublin II from one European state to another, it was deemed necessary to harmonise existing norms and standards. Agreement was reached on the fact that a person should be deported to another state only were minimum standards are at the very least upheld in that other state. At the end of the conference, the UK’s national preventive mechanism drafted a declaration to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which stressed the need to develop minimum standards for custody pending detention at Council of Europe level. 2.1 – VISIT OF THE UN SUBCOMMITTEE ON PREVENTION OF TORTURE A delegation of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) visited Germany from 8 to 12 April 2013 with the aim of advising and supporting the National Agency in carrying out its tasks. The delegation was headed by the SPT’s Contact for Germany, Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Maldives), who was accompanied by Mari Amos (Estonia), Felipe Villavicencio Terreros (Peru) and Victor Zaharia (Republic of Moldova). The delegation was supported by Patrice Gillibert, Secretary of the SPT, and another member of the Secretariat, Lucas Machon. As well as holding meetings with federal and Länder government representatives and with civil-society representatives on 8 and 12 April 2013, the delegation paid a visit to the National Agency in Wiesbaden from 9 to 11 April. After forwarding a list of questions regarding both the National Agency’s provision with funding and its work, a first meeting was held on 9 April 2013. The delegation also accompanied the Federal Agency on its visit to Mainz Federal Police Station. On 10 April 2013 it accompanied the Joint Commission on a visit to the wing in Mannheim Prison responsible for enforcing custody pending deportation. The visit to Wiesbaden was rounded off with a final meeting on 11 April 2013, during which the delegation presented its preliminary results regarding the work of the National Agency. Following its visit the SPT forwarded one copy of its report to the National Agency and one copy to the Federal 7 Government. 2.2 – CONFERENCE ON CUSTODY PENDING DEPORTATION ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS A conference entitled “Immigration Detention in Europe: Establishing Common Concerns and Developing Minimum Standards” was held in 7 The report to the National Agency (UN Document CAT/OP/DEU/R.2.) and the National Agency’s response are retrievable at: www.nationale-stelle.de. 17