Implementation of the Duties and Powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2012 Expert workers of the centre dedicate a lot of attention and time to carrying out work activities with foreigners, according to the explanation by the Ministry of the Interior. But the fact is that foreigners in the centre change all the time, their presence in the centre varies in terms of time, and so does their interest in participating in activities. Activities in the centre are carried out according to the wishes and needs of foreigners (for example, during Ramadan, foreigners of the Muslim religion have completely different needs and wishes, and, as a result, activities are tailored and completely separated from other activities in place according to the house rules and dedicated to other accommodated foreigners not observing Ramadan). Activities for foreign nationals are adapted to their wishes, capabilities and needs. Foreigners are informed about all activities provided by social workers who encourage them to participate in them. However, it does happen that foreigners refuse to take part in an activity on personal grounds, whereby their reason for lack of cooperation is not necessarily given. Organised activities are an opportunity for foreigners to become involved with a group and to participate in a group by way of a discussion or be active in creative activities; this is relaxing for them particularly because of the informal character of discussions and chats when a person easily opens up and expresses himself/herself. Foreign nationals are always invited to take part in them. Foreigners experiencing mental health disorders and other vulnerable categories of foreign nationals are particularly encouraged to participate in such activities, according to the explanation given by the Ministry of the Interior. Families and women are provided with additional possibilities to move around in the outdoor courtyard. There is a lot of documentary material regarding sports, social, creative and cultural activities of foreigners in the centre. That is why the Ministry of the Interior did not quite agree with the NPM’s claim that the recommendation regarding more activities to be run by the social workers of the Centre for Aliens had not been implemented; the NPM’s recommendation to improve conditions in this field was actually a surprise to them. Several other proposals were also given, such as: • in the light of the small number of foreign nationals, an option, based on a proposal by the NPM, should be examined that foreigners be allowed to use the computer room as often as possible; • it should be checked with an operator of the telephone apparatus whether there is an option to reduce the beeping of the time counter or to arrange the time counter in a different manner (perhaps with an electronic time counter); ��� considering the fact that the communal rooms of the centre are cleaned by the cleaning service Celovite storitve, more attention should be given to monitoring that the cleaning of toilets is adequate; • a torn-apart mattress (cut up several times) should be removed from the unit to enable stricter police surveillance (room number 7); • in the future, employees should use their own initiative to spot potential damage to equipment and take care that this damage is regularly repaired; • fresh air should be let into the empty premises which are less frequently occupied; • in case of a written complaint by a foreigner, the complainant should also receive a written answer to his complaint (in addition to an interview with a foreigner carried out by an employee, a written notification on the settled complaint is also important); National Preventive Mechanism in the Republic of Slovenia under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 103