25 3. The NPM’s cooperation with civil society organizations Pursuant to Article 3 of the OPCAT, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has to perform the tasks related to the NPM independently.62 However, in my activities aimed at promoting the enforcement and protection of human rights, I have to cooperate with “organizations and national institutions aiming at the promotion of the protection of fundamental rights”.63 3.1. The tasks of the Civil Consultative Body The Civil Consultative Body (hereinafter the “CCB”), established to utilize the outstanding practical and/or high-level theoretical knowledge of various organizations registered and operating in Hungary relative to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, which consists of four invited members and another four members selected as a result of a public call for application, assists the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism with its recommendations and comments. The mandate of the CCB set up three years ago, in 2014, expired on 19 November 2017. The NPM published its public call for applications on 19 October 2017 on the website and social media site of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, as well as in the weekly newsletter edited and disseminated by the Non-profit Information and Training Center Foundation, containing the information necessary for the everyday operation of civil society organizations operating in Hungary.64 Members of the CCB selected as a result of a public call for application are the Cordelia Foundations for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, and the Validity Foundation (its earlier name was Mental Disability Advocacy Center – MDAC). 62 63 64 See Section 2(6) of the Ombudsman Act. See Section 2(5) of the Ombudsman Act. The public call for applications was published in the newsletter on four occasions: on 26 October, and 2, 8 and 15 November 2017.