able to provide a detailed account of all health and san- rule out contamination.57 This will likely affect the NPM’s itary measures in place, as well as the implementation overall capacity to conduct on-site visits and should of safeguards to prevent torture or other ill-treatment.56 be taken into account in the overall planning, objective setting and prioritization of NPM activities. As they are likely to carry our fewer interviews, NPMs may have to increase their efforts in triangulating the The monitoring team must elaborate and adopt a pro- information gathered through registers, records, files cedure for the adequate decontamination and safe and other relevant documents. Registers and logs of disposal of their PPE. All PPE used during a visit (e.g., material supplies, use of force, outings and disciplinary masks, gloves, gowns and medical shoe covers) should measures, can all give a picture of daily life in the place be immediately discarded in an appropriate plastic of deprivation of liberty. Monitors should also consult bag after leaving the place of deprivation of liberty and internal rules, operational protocols, contingency plans before entering the vehicle. Anti-bacterial/disinfectant and any other documents that can help them better solutions and other cleansing products should be kept understand the functioning of the place of deprivation inside the vehicle so all monitors can clean their hands of liberty in these exceptional circumstances. before getting inside the vehicle. If any piece of cloth- 3. AFTER THE ON-SITE VISIT and disinfected before entering the vehicle, with regular ing was exposed during the visit, it should be cleaned household detergent followed by disinfectant.58 Monitoring does not end with the visit and, as such, 4. REPORTS AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION some precautionary measures are necessary after the on-site visit is over. It is recommended that monitors participating in visits undergo regular medical exami- As this is an especially challenging time for transparency nations, paying particular attention to any symptoms and access to information on the situation of individuals indicating a COVID-19 infection. deprived of liberty, it may be of particular importance that NPMs make their findings public and disseminate After participating in a monitoring visit, NPM members the information gathered as widely as possible, also for may decide to place themselves in voluntary home quar- those family members and relatives whose visits are antine for 14 days before conducting another visit to suspended or restricted. 56 For further information on interviewee selection, see APT, ‘Briefing N°2 The Selection of Persons to Interview in the Context of Preventive Detention Monitoring’, April 2009. 57 See, HMI of Prisons, ‘Health and safety guidance’, para. 8: Frequency of Deployment. 58 WHO, Interim Guidance, page 20. 19