CAT/C/63/4 36. During the reporting period, the regional groups of the Subcommittee also held a teleconference with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute and met with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Maldivian Democracy Network and the Omega Research Foundation during the course of its plenary sessions. IV. Issues of note arising from the work of the Subcommittee during the period under review A. 1. Development of working practices Visits 37. As mentioned, the Subcommittee undertook 10 visits in 2017. In a number of cases, it has been necessary to remind States parties that visits are to be undertaken at a time chosen by the Subcommittee, and in the manner provided for under the Optional Protocol. Moreover, regrettably its visit to Rwanda had to be suspended. The Subcommittee is concerned that not all States parties appear to fully appreciate the nature of the mandate of the Subcommittee and how the Optional Protocol is to operate in practice. 38. During the year, the Subcommittee continued its practice of phasing the announcements of those countries it will be visiting, rather than making such announcements by reference to calendar years. That allows the Subcommittee to better plan its use of resources and allows a more flexible and, where appropriate, reflexive approach to its visiting programme, while maximizing the notice given to allow States and others to facilitate visits in a focused, cooperative and collaborative manner. 39. Unfortunately, the levels of resourcing available to the Subcommittee, especially in terms of professional and general staff, have further deteriorated. This not only limits the capacity of the Subcommittee but places an enormous strain on those staff currently working with it. Although General Assembly resolution 68/268 provides for the provision of additional staff to support an increase in the volume of activities of the Subcommittee, the reality is that the current level of staffing is little different to that at the time the resolution was adopted, and the total workload has more than doubled. 40. The Subcommittee therefore urges States parties to consider strengthening the secretariat support base as a matter of urgency, since if the issue is left unaddressed the functioning of the Subcommittee will inevitably begin to decline and its effectiveness will diminish. It is imperative that the level of secretariat support be enhanced to ensure it is commensurate to the workload of the Subcommittee. 2. Working groups 41. The time allocated for Subcommittee working groups during its sessions has been substantially reduced in order to increase the time spent in plenary. While that is partly owing to the need to collectively consider an increasing range of issues, it is also because interpretation facilities have not been available for the working groups. It is clearly inappropriate for members to be unable to participate effectively in Subcommittee work for the lack of interpretation facilities. It is equally inappropriate for the limited time available to the Subcommittee to be spent unprofitably in unnecessary plenary discussion of matters best addressed in functional teams. The Subcommittee will continue to review its use of working groups in the light of the nature of the issues to be considered and the resources made available to it. It is conscious that the effectiveness and efficiency of its work is being hampered by decision-making that is beyond its control and for which those responsible should be held accountable. 42. As a result of the issues noted above, the working group on procedural issues and the working group on jurisprudence and thematic issues have had to be merged into a single working group, with the result that the review of its rules of procedure, consolidation and alignment of working methods, responding to requests for advice and assistance from national preventive mechanisms and the consideration of jurisprudential issues raised with 8