CAT/OP/C/57/4 7. The Bureau of the Subcommittee was elected at the twenty-fifth session. The Chair was Malcolm Evans. The Vice-Chairs were: Enrique Andrés Font, Visits; Suzanne Jabbour, External Relations; Paul Lam Shang Leen, National Preventive Mechanisms; and Aisha Shujune Muhammad, Jurisprudence and Subcommittee Rapporteur. 8. Following the twenty-fifth session, the heads of the regional teams were: Africa, Hans-Jörg Bannwart; Asia and the Pacific, Lowell Goddard; Europe, Mari Amos; and Latin America, Felipe Villavicencio Terreros. The regional teams examine the implementation of the Optional Protocol within their region, reporting to the Subcommittee in plenary, with recommendations as appropriate. 9. The Subcommittee’s permanent and ad hoc working groups met at each session during 2015. Further information on the meetings is provided in section IV below. Meeting in subgroups and working groups facilitates discussion of a broad range of issues, in a more focused and participatory fashion. 10. On 18 June, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims organized a capacity-building seminar for the Subcommittee on the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol). C. Visits conducted during the reporting period 11. At its twenty-sixth session, the Subcommittee reviewed its approach to visits. In order to maximize their preventive potential, the Subcommittee decided that future visits would not be limited to a single aspect of prevention, but would instead focus on all the issues the Subcommittee deemed it appropriate to address. Consequently, as of 19 June 2015, the Subcommittee would not categorize visits as taking different forms, except for short follow-up visits undertaken in the wake of a visit in accordance with article 13 (4) of the Optional Protocol. The Subcommittee would, however, continue to identify particular objectives for each visit, reflecting what it considered to be most appropriate in the specific circumstances. 12. The Subcommittee conducted eight official visits in 2015. 13. It recommenced and concluded its visit to Azerbaijan in accordance with its mandate under article 11 (a) of the Optional Protocol (16-24 April), reflecting its practice as set out in paragraph 3 of its statement on the obligations of States parties to facilitate the visits of the Subcommittee (CAT/OP/24/1). The visit had previously been suspended on 14 September 2014. 14. The Subcommittee undertook seven visits in accordance with its mandate under articles 11, 12 and 13 of the Optional Protocol, to Nauru (4-8 May); Guatemala (11-20 May); the Philippines (25 May-3 June); the Netherlands (28-31 July); Italy (16-22 September): Turkey (6-9 October); and Brazil (19-30 October). A planned visit to Benin was postponed until 2016 owing to operational issues. 15. Further information on the above-mentioned visits is available in the press releases issued following each visit. D. Dialogue arising from visits, including publication of the Subcommittee’s reports by States parties and national preventive mechanisms 16. The substantive aspects of the dialogue arising from visits are confidential. Reports are made public only with the consent of the recipient. By the end of 2015, the 4