Police and Media In 2012, the PCU also provided assistance to the MoI and the Department of State Guards in improving their relations with the media. The project aimed at preventing conflict between law enforcement officials and journalists, as well as increasing the capacity of law enforcement officials to comply with the new legislation on access to information. The project was developed and implemented at the request of the MoI and the Press Office of the Administration of the President of Ukraine. The project focused on introducing the stakeholders to the expertise accumulated in the OSCE, including recommendations of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media (RFoM) and best practices from the OSCE participating States vis-a-vis the relations of law enforcement with media. To that end, in July and September, four international experts made presentations to their Ukrainian colleagues. Two of the experts – law enforcement practitioners from the UK and the USA – presented practical experience from their countries in building trust and co-operation with the press. After holding several meetings with MoI officials and representatives of the media community, the experts also developed and provided the MoI with their written recommendations on the possible improvement of its media relations practices. Another presentation, delivered by the author of the OSCE RFoM-sponsored Journalist Security Guidebook, covered international standards and recommendations on interactions between police and media. The fourth international speaker delivered a presentation on the use of cooperation with self-regulatory bodies of journalists to handle conflicts. The expert also provided consultations to stakeholders on the issues of identifying media professionals, including the international experience of introducing unified press IDs issued by unions of journalists and recognized by law enforcement. In October, a study visit to France was organized for a group of ten representatives of beneficiary offices and media NGOs to gain a better understanding of good practices in building and maintaining relations between law enforcement and the media. The visitors learned about practices of different French law enforcement agencies. Special attention was paid to the functions of the French Commission for Issuing Identification Cards for Professional Journalists. On the basis of international experience and recommendations, a team of four local experts, hired by the PCU, developed a training programme targeting personnel of the MoI and the Department of State Guards. In November-December, the training programme was used to conduct five training courses in Donetsk, Khmelnitsky, Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa. 170 militia officers and servicemen from the Department of State Guards, responsible for liaison with media, were trained on the specifics of the work of journalists, including both legal and practical aspects. Other issues covered in the training included new legal requirements in the area of access to information and means of conflict resolution through the co-operation with self-regulatory bodies of journalists. Each training session was accompanied by a round table discussion on the possibility and mechanisms of introducing unified press IDs and the issues of journalist security. National Prevention Mechanism against Torture and Ill-Treatment In 2012, the PCU continued to provide support to the development of the national prevention mechanism against torture and ill-treatment (NPM) in Ukraine pursuant to the UN OPCAT. Significant progress was made during 2012. In October, the Parliament of Ukraine passed the Bill No. 11073, submitted by the President of Ukraine, into law, thereby conferring competences and powers to develop the NPM with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights (the Ombudsman). The law thus established the legislative framework for the Ombudsman Plus Model in Ukraine. To foster these achievements, the PCU supported the development of the Ombudsman Plus Concept for Ukraine, the Ombudsman Plus Methodological Model and concrete recommendations 108