110 II – 9 Memorandum of Cooperation with Provincial Ombudsman Republic of Serbia Autonomous Province of Vojvodina PROVINCIAL OMBUDSMAN REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Memorandum of Cooperation Signed between the Protector of Citizens and Provincial Ombudsman This Memorandum regulates in detail the cooperation of the Protector of Citizens in performing tasks of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture with the Provincial Ombudsman, in accordance with Article 2a paragraph 2 of the Law on Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro – International Agreements”, Nos. 16/2005, 16/2005 and 2/2006 and “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – International Agreements”, No. 7/2011). The cooperation of the Protector of Citizens with the Provincial Ombudsman in performing tasks of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture shall be implemented through participation of the Provincial Ombudsman in visits of the Monitoring team of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture to the institutions in the territory of AP Vojvodina, where persons are deprived of their liberty; participation in planning visits to such institutions; participation in drafting reports, recommendations, opinions and other documents of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture; participation in cooperation of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture with the representatives of the civil society, state authorities and bodies; as well as other activities of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture . In the Plan for visits of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture to institutions where persons are deprived of their liberty, the representative/es182 of the Provincial Ombudsman may be appointed as head of the team for certain visits to the institutions in the territory of AP Vojvodina. Representative of the Provincial Ombudsman shall participate in making plans for visits of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture to institutions where persons are deprived of their liberty, in the part that relates to institutions found in the territory of AP Vojvodina. Representative of the Provincial Ombudsman shall participate in drafting reports of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture on the performed visits to institutions as member of the Monitoring team, i.e. in making draft reports on the performed visits where he/she was the head of the Monitoring team. The Provincial Ombudsman shall participate in making proposals for measures, recommendations, initiatives, opinions and other documents of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture related to visits to institutions, in which its representative took part or was the head of the Monitoring team. 182 All gramatically gender-specific nouns in this Memorandum shall be used as gender neutral and refer to gender equality of the members of both genders.