E/CN.4/2006/6 page 8 18. On 14 December 2005, the Special Rapporteur was invited by the German Institute of Human Rights, Berlin, to a meeting to discuss the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, including aspects of its implementation. In attendance were representatives of the Government of Germany and the Länder. 19. On 22 December 2005, the Special Rapporteur is expected to address the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on cooperation among international and regional human rights mechanisms in the prevention of torture. II. COUNTRY VISIT METHODOLOGY 20. Based on his recent experiences in carrying out country visits, the Special Rapporteur considers it important to draw the attention of the Commission to his methods of work in this regard. Successive resolutions of the Commission have approved and recognized the long-standing methods of work of the Special Rapporteur (e.g. 2001/62, para. 30; 2004/41, para. 29; 2005/39, para. 26). The Special Rapporteur recalls that a country visit can only be undertaken upon the invitation of the Government, which by itself is a statement of a country’s willingness to open up to independent and objective scrutiny and a testament to its cooperation with the international community in the area of human rights. Those States that have answered requests and have extended invitations should therefore be commended. 21. However, an invitation alone is not sufficient, and acceptance by the Special Rapporteur is contingent upon an express agreement by the Government of its commitment and cooperation by assuring full compliance with his terms of reference. The aim of carrying out country visits is to see first-hand what the true practice and situation of torture and ill-treatment is: to identify gaps as well as acknowledge positive measures, to recommend ways to improve the situation, and to initiate a process of sustained constructive cooperation with the Government together with the international community and civil society in order to eradicate torture and ill-treatment. Such visits necessarily entail meetings with authorities most directly concerned with the issues, alleged victims or their families, as well as NGOs and relevant international actors. 22. To ensure that any assessment of the situation of torture and ill-treatment will be honest, credible and objective, a number of basic preconditions must be guaranteed by the Government to ensure that the Special Rapporteur can carry out his work effectively. The Special Rapporteur recalls that these conditions, or terms of reference for fact-finding missions, were adopted at the fourth meeting of independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights in May 1997 (E/CN.4/1998/45, appendix V). In particular, they include freedom of movement within the country; access to all prisons, detention centres and places of interrogation; confidential and unsupervised interviews; assurance by the Government that no persons who have been in contact with the Special Rapporteur will be subject to reprisals; and assurances that the same guarantees and facilities extended to the Special Rapporteur will be extended to his United Nations staff. These terms of reference are integral to his methods of work. The Special Rapporteur notes that similar standards for conducting visits to detention facilities have been recognized in international instruments, such as in the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, article 8, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, articles 14 and 15.