introduction Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was established at the international level. However, at the domestic level, each State Party shall set up a national preventive mechanism. The Government of the Republic of Poland fulfils numerous recommendations of the Human Rights Defender. However, despite the OPCAT’s provisions and contrary to the Paris Principles4, from the very beginning of performance of the tasks of the national preventive mechanism by the Human Rights Defender, the Ombudsman receives insufficient funds for their implementation. Despite the adversity, my representatives performed 122 preventive visits in 2014. They enabled us to draw conclusions on observing the rights of persons deprived of their liberty. The present Report is the seventh report on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland, which the Republic of Poland is obliged to prepare and publish, pursuant to Article 23 of the OPCAT. It was drawn up in two languages in order to disseminate it also among international institutions and national preventive mechanisms in other countries. Just like in previous years, the Report was divided into two parts. The first one discusses organisational issues, cooperation with other entities, both at the national and international level, and presents a catalogue of legal acts on which the representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism have given their opinion. However, the second part describes the applied methodology of work and conclusions from visits held in 2014, broken down by specific types of places of detention. I  encourage you to thoroughly analyse those conclusions. Despite the fact that no instances of torture were found by the National Preventive Mechanism in the Republic of Poland, there are still situations in various places of detention that may be considered degrading or inhuman treatment and they have to be fought. In 2014, there were several judgments indicating torture. I  welcome the fact that numerous recommendations of my representatives issued in 2014 as a result of undertaken activities were implemented by the authorities of individual facilities immediately after visiting them. This fosters cooperation in a spirit of dialogue and understanding. The implementation of specific recommendations that require significant financial outlays and systemic changes is monitored by NPM personnel on an ongoing basis. 4 8 The Paris Principles are requirements for human rights institutions. They were adopted by the UN in 1993. The main features which these institutions should have are: independence and pluralism.