CAT/C/46/2 Annex II Summary of the mandate of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 1. The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Subcommittee) was established following the entry into force in June 2006 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It started its work in February 2007. The Subcommittee is currently composed of 10 independent experts from the States parties that have ratified the Optional Protocol. As of January 2011, the number of independent experts will increase to 25, in accordance with article 5, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol. 2. The Optional Protocol mandates the Subcommittee to visit all places under the jurisdiction and control of the State party where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty, either by virtue of an order given by a public authority or at its instigation or with its consent or acquiescence. The Subcommittee visits police stations, prisons (military and civilian), detention centres (pretrial detention, immigration detention, juvenile justice establishments, etc.), mental health and social care institutions, and any other places where people are or may be deprived of their liberty. The Subcommittee has a comprehensive preventive approach. During its visits, it examines the situation of persons deprived of their liberty, the prison system and other public agencies with detention authority with the aim of identifying gaps in the protection of the persons concerned and of making recommendations to the State party, which are intended to eliminate or reduce to the minimum the possibilities of torture or ill-treatment. The Subcommittee does not provide legal advice or assist in litigation and does not provide direct financial assistance. Under the Optional Protocol, the Subcommittee has unrestricted access to all places of detention, their installations and facilities and to all relevant information relating to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty. The Subcommittee must also be granted access to have private interviews with the persons deprived of their liberty, without witnesses, and to any other person who in the Subcommittee’s view may supply relevant information. The States parties undertake to ensure that there are no sanctions or reprisals for providing information to Subcommittee members. 3. Furthermore, the Optional Protocol requires States parties to set up independent national preventive mechanisms (NPMs), which are national bodies mandated to examine the treatment of people in detention, make recommendations to Government authorities to strengthen protection against torture and comment on existing or proposed legislation. The Subcommittee is mandated under article 11, paragraph 1 (b), of the Optional Protocol to advise on and assist both States parties with the development and functioning of NPMs and the NPMs themselves to reinforce their powers, independence and capacities; and about ways to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their liberty. 4. As provided for under article 11, paragraph 1 (c), of the Optional Protocol, the Subcommittee shall cooperate, for the prevention of torture in general, with the relevant United Nations organs and mechanisms as well as with the international, regional and national institutions or organizations working towards the strengthening of the protection of all persons against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 5. The Subcommittee is guided by the core principles of confidentiality, impartiality, non-selectivity, universality and objectivity. The Optional Protocol is based on cooperation between the Subcommittee and the States parties. During its visits, the Subcommittee GE.11-40683 29