DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (DCI) - Belgium | Practical Guide 3.3. Basic requirements for effective monitoring � INDEPENDENCE � EXTERNALITY � REGULARITY OF VISITS � POWERS OF INVESTIGATION / CAPACITY � INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDREN � REPORTING AND RECOMMENDATIONS � FOLLOW UP � COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION The international standards previously mentioned, refer to a series of criteria that monitoring mechanisms should fulfil to perform their mission effectively and with efficiency i.e. to guarantee the respect of children’s rights while they are deprived of their liberty. INDEPENDENCE This first and probably most important characteristic is the independence / the autonomy both from the authority on which it depends (namely regarding human, material and financial resources, their election process, their composition, reports and recommendations), from the visited institutions and the administration the institutions depend on. EXTERNALITY The monitoring mechanism should be different from an internal entity. It should be distinct from the object of its control in order to avoid any conflict of interest or risk of partiality. 32