A/HRC/22/53/Add.2 41. During the visit, CNDH indicated that it would be ready to act as the national preventive mechanism foreseen in article 17 of the Optional Protocol, but would support a comprehensive process of consultation with other actors prior to any decision. C. Conditions of detention 42. Since 2008, the overall responsibility for correctional facilities in Morocco, the implementation of judicial decisions and the execution of sentences lies with the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration,a governmental body reporting directly to the Head of Government. The main national legal instrument regulating prison conditions and treatment of prisoners is the Prisons Act (No. 23/98) of 1999. Morocco has 73 detention facilities, including 3 central prisons for long-term imprisonment and life sentences, and 58 local prisons for pretrial and short-term detainees. 43. The Special Rapporteur visited a number of facilities of deprivation of liberty and detention centres in Rabat, Kenitra, Skhirat-Témara and Casablanca, including police stations of the Police and the ―royal Gendarmerie‖; pretrial detention facilities; prisons, including a death-row section, and sections for juveniles and for women; one temporary detention facility for irregular migrants and asylum seekers; one juvenile correctional facility; and one psychiatric institution. He notes that there was obvious readiness and preparation for his visit, including the relocation of certain prisoners. While this may have detracted from his ability to see these places more spontaneously, he appreciates the impressive effort undertaken to invest in the upgrading and renovation of these facilities, which will hopefully have longer term positive benefits. 44. The Special Rapporteur observed that there were a high number of doctors and nurses present during his inspections of detention facilities, but independent medical care is not provided. The facilities visited suffer from a shortage of infirmary equipment, particularly in relation to dental care, which was insufficient or non-existent. Psychiatric medical care was also insufficient or even non-existent. However, the Special Rapporteur did not detect situations of detainees with infectious contagious diseases, namely tuberculosis, living side by side with all the others. 45. The Government informed the Special Rapporteur that the budget for nutrition service in detention facilities was 331 million dirhams (DH) in 2012. He notes that this represents a three-fold increase of the budget from 2008 (DH 108 million). In this context, the Government explained that the control lies with the local office of hygiene. However, no independent control exists over the quantity and quality of the food. It appears that inmates rely heavily on their families in order to avoid malnutrition. The kitchen facilities visited were clean but poorly equipped and not sufficiently maintained to provide inmates with balanced and healthy meals. 1. Overcrowding 46. The authorities openly acknowledged that overcrowding was an issue that needed to be addressed. The Government informed the Special Rapporteur that, as of August 2012, there was a prison population of 69,054 detainees (comprising both convicted and pretrial detainees, who are not always kept separate, and including 1,613 female prisoners). There have been conflicting figures as to the total capacity in the prison system. The General Delegation informed the Special Rapporteur that it was 48,000-50,000, indicating an overcrowding rate of about 38 per cent, while CNDH estimates it to be 37,000, which would put the overcrowding rate at closer to 86 per cent. These figures may even underestimate the real rate of overcrowding because the rates are based on the number of beds available in relation to the actual population. In some of the prisons, the beds 11