CAT/OP/KAZ/1/Add.1 17. On 14 March 2017, the Commission on Human Rights attached to the Office of the President recommended that a bill on the Commissioner for Human Rights should be drafted, to include the possibility of expanding the powers of the national human rights institution, as well as its financial and human resources. 18. Furthermore, in accordance with the inter-agency action plan for implementation of the recommendations made during the universal periodic review and by the Human Rights Committee, proposals for the implementation of the Human Rights Council recommendations that the status of the Ombudsman should be brought into line with the Paris Principles will be put to this year’s meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consultative and advisory body, the Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension. Paragraph 19 The Subcommittee recommends extending the current one-year mandate of the members of the national preventive mechanism in order to ensure some continuity. All mechanism participants should undergo training, including on interview techniques, visiting procedures and skills to detect signs and risks of torture and illtreatment. 19. As a general rule, 30 per cent of the membership of the national preventive mechanism is renewed each year, which allows the general public to be involved in its work. The remaining 70 per cent of the participants are re-elected, providing some continuity. Furthermore, the possibility is being discussed with the Coordinating Council of extending the mandate of the national preventive mechanism to two years. 20. The Ombudsman and the Coordinating Council of the national preventive mechanism carry out systemic work to assure and improve the capacities and skills of the members of the mechanism; they receive substantial support to that end from our partners, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office in Astana, the regional programmes of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for Central Asia, the Central Asia representative of Penal Reform International (PRI) and a number of Kazakh nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). 21. One of the priorities of the Human Rights Commissioner and the Coordinating Council is to enhance the professional capacities of the national preventive mechanism members. Since the National Preventive Mechanism Act was signed, 22 training sessions have been conducted with the organizations mentioned on practical issues related to the mechanism’s work for its participants and staff of government agencies; participants in the courses have included members of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and representatives of the national preventive mechanisms of other countries. The training sessions concerned the monitoring of psychiatric institutions and police stations, interview methodology, planning and conducting preventive visits, preparing reports on the outcome of preventive visits and interacting with the media. 22. The Coordinating Council has developed methodological recommendations for effective monitoring of the mandated agencies and forms of reporting according to the type of site visited. 23. The Human Rights Commissioner intends to continue efforts in this direction, including by raising the possibility of working with international organizations in developing online training courses for national preventive mechanism members. 24. Furthermore, the inter-agency action plan for the implementation of the recommendations made during the universal periodic review and by the Human Rights Committee includes the following activities: • Training sessions for national preventive mechanism members, with the involvement of Kazakh, international and foreign experts, in cooperation with PRI and international organizations. The final output will be a joint training plan. The 4 GE.19-01981