CAT/C/44/2* detailed information concerning the establishment of national preventive mechanisms (legal mandate, composition, size, expertise, financial resources at their disposal, frequency of visits, etc.). At the time of writing, 32 States parties had provided information on all or some of these matters.12 Information was also requested from those mechanisms already designated or in place, many of which sent in their annual reports. 40. The establishment or designation of national preventive mechanisms is an obligation undertaken by States parties under the Optional Protocol. The national preventive mechanisms are a key component of the torture prevention system instituted by the Optional Protocol. Accordingly, the Subcommittee takes this opportunity to urge those States parties that have not yet done so to establish or designate such a mechanism as soon as possible. 41. Given that, during the reporting year — and indeed since the Subcommittee began its work — there has been no budget allocation for the Subcommittee to work directly with States or with the national preventive mechanisms, or for the promotion of ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol, direct contact with the national preventive mechanisms has been made possible by the firm support, including financial support, of civil society bodies, such as the OPCAT Contact Group and others that have organized workshops in their own countries. The Subcommittee wishes to underline the importance of the support it receives from civil society organizations in this regard but would also draw the attention of the General Assembly to the risks entailed in delegating budget support for the discharge of an official mandate to non-governmental bodies. 42. The Subcommittee has tried to find creative options for maintaining its critical work in this area, and members have made what are to all intents and purposes personal undertakings to take part in workshops and academic activities in countries in every part of the world. During the reporting period, Subcommittee members attended 14 events of this kind. 43. The Subcommittee earnestly hopes that the General Assembly will be able to provide it with sufficient resources for the next biennium to enable it to discharge its mandate to advise and assist the national preventive mechanisms in accordance with article 11 (b) of the Optional Protocol. 44. During the course of the year, the Subcommittee had various bilateral and multilateral contacts with national preventive mechanisms and other organizations, including national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and NGOs involved in the development of such mechanisms in all the regions covered by its mandate. The Subcommittee salutes the work of the member organizations of the OPCAT Contact Group,13 in partnership with regional bodies such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Council of Europe, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Commission, in organizing gatherings around the world to promote and assist in the implementation of the Optional Protocol. 45. In response to requests from some national preventive mechanisms for assistance, the Subcommittee is exploring ways to develop a pilot programme for assistance to national preventive mechanisms, based on a combination of workshops and observation of national 12 13 12 All official information communicated by States parties to the Subcommittee concerning designation, establishment or maintenance of national preventive mechanisms is available on the Subcommittee’s website: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/opcat/index.htm. For the organizations involved in the OPCAT Contact Group, see annex VI. GE.10-41876