CAT/OP/MLI/1 composition, functioning and lack of financial independence to fully carry out its mandate do not comply with either the Paris Principles or article 18 of the Optional Protocol. It is truly unfortunate that the national preventive mechanism was unable to arrange visits to places of detention outside the district of Bamako, due to a lack of financial and logistic resources. The Subcommittee emphasizes that it tried to contact the national preventive mechanism to follow up its visit, notably regarding the question of possible reprisals, but received no response. 15. The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities take all necessary measures to bring the national preventive mechanism into conformity with the Paris Principles, as required by the Optional Protocol and the Subcommittee’s guidelines on national preventive mechanisms, particularly by allocating it an adequate budget. IV. Key challenges and recommendations A. Fundamental safeguards 16. The Subcommittee notes that the criminal legislation in force in Mali provides important safeguards against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including provisions concerning limitations on the duration of police custody, the requirement to inform the detainee’s family of his or her detention, the power vested in the public prosecutor and the investigating judge to visit detention centres and assess the legality and conditions of detention, the right of access to a lawyer and a doctor, and the obligation to keep official registers of arrests. Nonetheless, during its visit, the Subcommittee noted a systematic failure to implement these fundamental guarantees as established in the texts. The Subcommittee is concerned that the current institutional framework in Mali is unable to offer sufficient safeguards of the fundamental rights established in Malian law to effectively prevent possible acts of torture and ill-treatment, including those resulting from the widespread corruption affecting the justice system. Right to be informed of one’s rights and the reason for one’s arrest 17. The persons interviewed by the Subcommittee indicated that they had not been notified of their rights on their arrest, even though this is one of the essential safeguards for any person detained.1 Furthermore, the Subcommittee was itself able to note the systematic absence of adequate information on the basic rights of persons who have been arrested, and particularly of noticeboards or posters bearing such information in gendarmerie and police stations. On the other hand, the majority of those interviewed had been informed of the reasons for their arrest. 18. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that instructions are issued to all officers responsible for making arrests to the effect that persons deprived of their liberty must be effectively and systematically informed of their rights orally and in writing, in a language that they understand immediately on their arrest. These procedures should be duly recorded. 1 GE.14-41827 Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988, Principle 13 (hereinafter Body of Principles). 5