The National Agency is tasked with preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment at places of detention. This means that it has a preventive remit. For the fulfilment of this task, it is necessary that the Agency’s recommendations are implemented not only in the facilities it visits but in all the relevant facilities across Germany. The National Agency translates recurring recommendations into standards. These standards are developed on a continual basis and are intended to provide the supervisory authorities and facilities with benchmarks for humane detention conditions and humane treatment of persons who are deprived of their liberty in any of the facilities under their responsibility. This helps ensure humane detention conditions while also increasing the effectiveness of the National Agency’s work despite the large number of facilities. The standards are also published on the website of the National Agency. To ensure the respect of human dignity, the National Agency considers the following standards to be indispensable. 18