MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 15 INTRODUCTION “The Special Rapporteur is convinced that there needs to be a radical transformation of assumptions in international society about the nature of deprivation of liberty. The basic paradigm, taken for granted over at least a century, is that prisons, police stations and the like are closed and secret places, with activities inside hidden from public view. (…) What is needed is to replace the paradigm of opacity by one of transparency. The assumption should be one of open access to all places of deprivation of liberty.” Sir Nigel Rodley United Nations former Special Rapporteur on Torture 3 July 2001, A/56/156, §35 WHY A GUIDE ON MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION? Transparency and independent control of the public administration form part of any system based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. This is especially true in the case of monitoring the power of the State to deprive people of their liberty. Monitoring the treatment and conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty through unannounced and regular visits is one of the most effective means of preventing torture and ill-treatment. The idea of external and independent monitoring places of detention has made considerable progress over the past few years. It is now widely accepted that one of the best safeguards against torture and ill-treatment is for places of detention consistently to be as