MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 27 National NGOs can thus play a dual role: They keep a watchful eye on the functioning of State organs, on behalf of civil society, and they contribute actively to the maintenance or establishment of humane and decent conditions of detention which respect human rights. Lastly, national NGOs can provide local support for awarenessraising activities and campaigns run by international and intergovernmental bodies working to protect and promote human rights. 4.2. Recommendations of international organisations The importance of NGO involvement in monitoring conditions of detention is increasingly recognised by the international organs active in the field. Several international organisations have recently advocated access for national NGOs to places of detention. “NGOs should be trained, encouraged and permitted to monitor places of detention including pre-trial detention”. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Supplementary Meeting on Inhuman Treatment, 27 March 2000, Vienna “Regular inspections of places of detention especially when carried out as part of a system of periodic visits, constitutes one of the most effective preventive measures against torture. Independent nongovernmental organisations should be authorised to have full access to all places of detention, including police lock-ups, pre-trial detention centres, security service premises, administrative detention areas and prisons, with a view to monitoring the treatment of persons and their conditions of detention. When inspection occurs, members of the inspection team should be afforded an opportunity to speak privately with detainees. The team should also report publicly on its findings. (...)”