visits and on the other, to better understand the problems facing officers on a daily basis. Meetings
were organized owing to the involvement of the plenipotentiaries of voivodeship commanders for
the protection of human rights. In 2019 they were attended by over 500 officers.
The NMPT also initiated cooperation with the Education Development Centre in Sulejówek.
Three meetings with representatives of the NMPT were held as part of cyclical training sessions conducted for the employees of youth care centres and youth socio-therapy centres. What was discussed
during those meetings were problems observed by the NMPT during visits to facilities for minors,
particularly in terms of ensuring minimum anti-torture guarantees.
As part of internships for law students organized in the Office of the Commissioner for Human
Rights from July to June, employees of the NMPT assumed the roles of supervisors during study visits
to penitentiary units in Warsaw15. Meetings constitutes a good occasion for trainee lawyers to see
first-hand what places of detention look like and learn more about the National Mechanism for the
Prevention of Torture. Representatives of the NMPT emphasized the significant role that attorneys
and legal counsels play in ensuring fundamental rights to detained individuals.
Various informational materials, including two video spots prepared by APT concerning the role
of the national preventive mechanisms as well as changed police interrogation methods were presented during the meetings and training sessions organized by the NMPT. Polish language versions were
prepared thanks to the support provided by the Supreme Bar Council and the National Chamber of
Legal Advisers. Moreover, as part of the cooperation with the Supreme Bar Council various infographics were prepared illustrating the rights of persons subjected to torture or witnessing torture
as well as the role, tasks and work methodology of the NMPT and judicial decisions of the European
Court of Human Rights with regard to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.
What was also prepared was the new version of the NMPT informational leaflet which is distributed during visits to places of detention. The leaflet comprises information about the role and operation of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, definition of torture and the nature
of preventive visits. Leaflets contain contact details for the victims or witnesses of torture and they
are handed by persons performing preventive visits to both, persons deprived of their liberty as well
as employees of places of detention. Additionally, it should be observed that those leaflets have been
translated into 4 foreign languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese. They are available on
the website16.
What has been created as part of the campaign is also the poster No to torture, designed by Luka
Rayski known, among other things, for the poster Constitution. The said materials have been sent to all
penitentiary units, police units, youth care centres, juvenile detention centres, closed detention centres
for migrants. By putting them up the authorities of those establishments send a clear message that they
oppose all forms of ill-treatment and they strive to build a culture of no tolerance to torture. People
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Pre-trial detention centre in Warszawa-Służewiec and pre-trial detention centre in Warszawa-Białołęka.
All informational materials concerning the campaign are available on the website: https://www.rpo.gov.pl/krajowy-mechanizm-prewencji.
Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2019
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