MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 16 transparent as possible, allowing regular access by reputable members of the public. This positive evolution is reflected in the adoption on 18 December 2002 of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT), whose objective is “to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Under the OPCAT, the main obligation to prevent torture lies at the domestic level, as State Parties will have to “set up, designate or maintain one or several national preventive mechanisms”. New mechanisms will need to be set up or existing mechanisms will have to be adjusted in line with the OPCAT criteria. This development should not exclude or be detrimental to other forms of monitoring at the domestic level. In this context, the present practical guide aims to serve as a useful tool for promoting effective preventive visits by any monitoring group or body at the national level. TARGET AUDIENCE This guide addresses any person or body entitled to monitor and carry out visits to places of detention at the national level. As mentioned above, primary users will be members of mechanisms set up or designated as “national preventive mechanisms” under the OPCAT. The guide, however, is not limited to these bodies, but has a broader use as a tool for other persons or institutions entitled to monitor places of detention in their country. It is addressed to bodies that already have obtained access to places of detention through their mandate or through specific agreement. Therefore, the issue of obtaining access to places of detention is not covered.1 1 The issue is covered in Part II of the APT/ODIHR guide “Monitoring places of detention: a pratical guide for NGOs”, Geneva, December 2002, pp. 36-39.