The Republic of Poland is one of the 89 States-Parties that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 18 December 2002. Poland is also one of the 71 countries that have established their National Preventive Mechanisms to visit places of detention. The objective of the Protocol has been to introduce a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty. At the international level the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has been established. At the national level, each State-Party is required to establish its National Preventive Mechanism. The Protocol has been founded on the assumption that the protection of people deprived of liberty against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment may be strengthened by preventive non-judicial measures based on regular visits to places of detention. According to the Protocol, a place of detention in a State-Party is defined as any place under its jurisdiction and control where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty, either by virtue of an order given by a public authority or at its instigation or with its consent or acquiescence (Article 4(1) OPCAT). For the purposes of the Protocol, deprivation of liberty means any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority. The definitions are very broad and, therefore, the visits cover a variety of places. The present document constitutes the eleventh report on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland, required to be drawn up and published by our country according to Article 23 of the OPCAT. I hope that the authorities of the Republic of Poland as well as representatives of the civil society see the need for comprehensive support for the system that protects the rights of persons deprived of their liberty against prohibited forms of treatment. Experience shows that there is a deep reason behind the visits conducted within the NMPT. Hanna Machińska, Ph.D. Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights 6