CAT/C/44/2* 72. The Subcommittee notes with appreciation the continuing contribution made by civil society both to promoting ratification of, or accession to, the Optional Protocol, and to the implementation process. It is also grateful for the constant support provided by APT in both these lines of work. VI. A. Administrative and budgetary matters Resources in 2009–2010 73. Article 25 of the Optional Protocol states that “the expenditure incurred by the Subcommittee on Prevention in the implementation of the present Protocol shall be borne by the United Nations” and that “the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Subcommittee on Prevention under the present Protocol”. 74. Since it began its work in 2007, no United Nations funding has been provided for the Subcommittee to carry out its mandate in relation to national preventive mechanisms. The Subcommittee welcomes the fact that, at the time of writing, there were plans to adopt a budget for the biennium that would take account of the growth in membership from 10 to 25 and would contain other provisions to permit the discharge of other aspects of the Subcommittee’s mandate. B. Secretariat of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 75. The Subcommittee welcomed the appointment of a staff member to work on an 80per cent basis on secretariat functions, and a junior professional officer (JPO) to work on a 50-per cent basis, thanks to funding from the Government of Denmark. 76. In its eight visits carried out to date, the Subcommittee has worked with a total of 14 different staff members from OHCHR. All have produced very high-quality work and demonstrated great professionalism. However, such a turnover of staff in visits of this kind creates difficulties in induction and specialization and does not provide the continuity required for such visits. The Subcommittee is confident that an increase in secretariat staff will result in greater stability in this regard. C. Budgetary requirements 77. The Subcommittee has been engaged in discussions with the department of OHCHR responsible for budget and staffing with a view to obtaining a budget capable of supporting the mandate of the Subcommittee in accordance with the requirements of the Optional Protocol and covering the new needs and challenges arising from the transition to a larger, 25-member Subcommittee. VII. Organizational activities A. Plenary sessions of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 78. Over the course of the 12 months covered by the present report, the Subcommittee held three one-week sessions, from 22 to 26 June 2009; from 16 to 20 November 2009 and from 22 to 26 February 2010. These sessions were devoted to planning visits, meeting with GE.10-41876 19