14 NPM is entitled to: - have access to all information concerning the number of persons deprived of their liberty in places of detention, as well as the number of places and their location; - have access to all places of detention and their installations and facilities, as it chooses; - have the opportunity to conduct private interviews with the persons deprived of their liberty without witnesses, either personally or with a translator if deemed necessary, as well as with any other person who the national preventive mechanism believes may supply relevant information46. NPM is authorized to regularly check the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the places of detention, and to issue its recommendations to the competent authorities with the aim of improving treatment and status of persons deprived of their liberty and of preventing torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, taking into account all relevant norms of the United Nations, as well as to submit all proposals and issue its opinions in line with the current or proposed laws47. The State undertakes to guarantee the functional independence of the NPM, as well as independence of its staff48. No authority or official shall order, apply, permit or tolerate any sanction against any person or organization for having communicated to the national preventive mechanism any information, whether true or false, and no such person or organization shall be otherwise prejudiced in any way49. The State Party undertakes to make available the necessary resources for the functioning of the national preventive mechanisms50. Relation between the NPM and state authorities is based on the principle of trust and cooperation. The competent authorities are obliged to examine the recommendations of the NPM and enter into a dialogue with it on possible implementation measures51. The competent authorities are obliged to publish and distribute Annual Reports of the NPM. 3.3. Establishment of the Serbian NPM Serbia signed the Optional Protocol on September 25, 2003, and ratified it on December 1, 200552. Serbia became State Party to the Optional Protocol53 on September 26, 2006. Optional protocol, Article 20. Optional protocol, Article 19. 48 Optional protocol, Article 18, item 1. 49 Optional protocol, Article 21, item 1. 50 Optional protocol, Article 18, item 3. 51 Optional Protocol, Article 22. 52 "Official Gazette of the SAM - International Treaties”, no. 16/2005, amendments 2/2006 46 47