CAT/C/70/2 Subcommittee secretariat in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). F. Substantial non-compliance with article 17 19. At its twenty-seventh session, the Subcommittee decided to identify States parties whose establishment of their national preventive mechanism was substantially overdue and to record them on a list.4 The list is revised at each session of the Subcommittee, and States parties will be removed from the list once the threshold for such removal is met, namely, that the Subcommittee has received notification of the official designation of the national preventive mechanism and copies of the documentation providing for its establishment and effective functioning. As at 31 December 2020, the following 14 States parties were listed: Belize, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Mongolia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines and South Sudan. 20. This remains a matter of great concern to the Subcommittee, particularly since some of these States parties still appear to be making little if any progress towards fulfilling their obligations. G. Special Fund established under the Optional Protocol 21. Support provided through the Special Fund established under article 26 (1) of the Optional Protocol is directed towards projects aimed at establishing or strengthening national preventive mechanisms, thereby contributing to the implementation of the relevant recommendations made by the Subcommittee following a visit to a State party or supporting educational programmes of national preventive mechanisms. In 2020, grants amounting to $325,015 were awarded through the Special Fund to support 12 torture prevention projects in nine States parties during their implementation in 2021. The Subcommittee has assisted in the assessment of project proposals and recommendations for grants. The awarded projects are aimed at providing key support to some newly established national preventive mechanisms and strengthening the existing ones. They are also aimed at enhancing the knowledge and capacity of members and staff of the national preventive mechanisms in monitoring places of detention, increasing visibility of mechanisms and improving collaboration with relevant stakeholders on torture prevention. 22. The Subcommittee greatly appreciates the contributions made to the Special Fund during the reporting period by Czechia ($8,550), France ($23,686), Germany ($113,765), Norway ($119,895) and Spain ($23,752), and a pledge made by Denmark ($396,000). Nevertheless, it remains mindful of the fact that further contributions will be necessary to support projects during the 2021–2022 grant cycle and beyond. The Special Fund is an essential tool for supporting and complementing the implementation of Subcommittee recommendations aimed at the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. The Subcommittee therefore urges States to continue to provide the Special Fund with the financial support it requires. 23. Given the focus of the Fund on the establishment and strengthening of national preventive mechanisms, and in response to increasing demand from the field, OHCHR developed and launched in 2018 a practical guide on the role of national preventive mechanisms in preventing torture.5 The guide was prepared in close collaboration with the Subcommittee. Following the publication of Russian and Spanish versions of the guide in 2019, the Arabic and French versions have been prepared in the current reporting period, for issuance in 2021. 4 5 6 www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/OPCAT/Pages/Article17.aspx. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/NPM_Guide_EN.pdf.