12 necessary, it issues comments to the report and submit them to the interested State Party, and the State Party may answer to these comments27. The Republic of Serbia submitted its reports to the Committee, and the Committee sent the comments thereto28. The Republic of Serbia is a Member State to the Council of Europe. European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms29 and European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment30 (European Convention for the Prevention of Torture) were ratified in 2003.31 The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture established the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.32 The state is obliged to allow the Committee to visit all places where the persons deprived of their liberty are placed.33 The State is obliged to enable Committee the access to its territory and traveling throughout the country with no restrictions, as well as access to complete information about the places where persons deprived of their liberty are held, including the right to free movement at those places and the right to communicate freely with persons deprived of liberty without witnesses present, as well as with any person believed to possess relevant information.34 After each visit the Committee composes its report about the facts found during the visits.35 By the end of the year of 2015, the Committee conducted visits to Serbia four times, specifically in the years of 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2015.36 3. Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture By the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or degrading Treatments and Punishments37 (the Optional Protocol) all State parties confirmed that ill-treatment is prohibited and that it constitutes severe violation of human rights38. By the Optional Protocol all State Parties agreed to establish the system of regular visits to the places where persons deprived of their liberty are held by independent international and national bodies, in order to prevent torture or any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.39 The intention of the Optional Protocol to enable all visits, i.e., permanent presence of the mechanism for the prevention of torture in the institutions where persons deprived of their liberty are held is caused by the fact that the underlying problem of the closed institutions is precisely the fact that they are closed and all developments in them are far from the eye of the public. Convention against Torture, Article 19, paragraph 1. Comment to the Report of the Republic of Serbia made by the Committee against Torture from the 41 st session held on 11/21/2008 29 Composed on 4.11. 1950 in Rome 30 Signed on November 26, 1987 in Strasbourg 31 "Official Gazette of the SCG – International Treaties ", no. 9/2003, 5/2005 and 7/2005 – correction and the Official Gazette of the SCG – International Treaties, no. 9/2003) 32 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, Article 1. 33 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, Article 2 and Article 7, paragraph 1. 27 28 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, Article 8. European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, Article 10, paragraph 1. 36 Report on the visits paid to the Republic of Serbia and the Answers of the Government of the Republic of Serbia may be seen at the web page of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture www.cpt.coe.int/en/states/srb.htm 37 Adopted on December 18, 2002 in New York, at the 57th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Entered into force by the Resolution А/REС/57/199 on June 22, 2006 38 Optional Protocol, preamble 39 Optional Protocol, Article 1. 34 35