Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2015 5. CAPACITIES, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND AMENDMENTS TO THE ACT ON THE NPM 5.1. Amendments to the Act on the National Preventive Mechanism Amendments to the Act on the NPM entered into force in April 2015 which remedied the shortcomings of the previous normative framework. The most significant amendments were the ones that enabled cooperation with a greater number of associations and independent experts instead of having two representatives of the academic community and two representatives of associations involved in the performance of tasks of the NPM. The possibility of cooperation with specialized ombuds has also been explicitly prescribed. At the same time, in July 2015, a new Ordinance on Selection Procedure and Work Method of Associations Registered for Performance of Activities in the Field of Human Rights Protection and Independent Experts in the NPM (hereinafter: NPM Ordinance) has been adopted. Pursuant to the provisions of the Act on the NPM and the NPM Ordinance, the Ombudswoman published a public call for proposals in November 2015 for the selection of independent experts and associations, which was published on the Ombudswoman’s website and also delivered to the academic community and to numerous professional associations and scientific institutions. After having conducted the procedure, five associations and 15 independent experts were selected who will be involved in the performance of tasks of the NPM. Having this many associations and independent experts, combined with cooperation with specialized ombuds, will surely contribute to more efficient protection of persons deprived of their liberty. 5.2. International cooperation in performance of tasks of the NPM Last year we participated in two meetings of the South-East Europe NPM Network, which were held in Tirana. The first meeting dealt with providing of healthcare to persons deprived of their liberty, while the second was focused on the current refugee crisis in the region, the treatment of applicants for international protection and forced returns. In Strasbourg we participated in a CPT conference about combating impunity in the police and prisons, about juveniles in detention, healthcare in prisons and solitary confinement units and about the standards of CPT for psychiatric institutions. Also, in Vienna we participated in the final convention and presentation of a study on strengthening efficient supervision of implementation of recommendations against torture. Furthermore, we took part in the workshop for NPMs regarding implementation of preventive mandate, which was held in Riga and organized by APT, IOI and the Ombudsman of Latvia. In terms of our work in the field of asylum and migration, we took part in the meeting of the European Network of Ombudsmen in Madrid, which dealt with supervision of forced returns. In November we were hosts to representatives of the Slovenian NPM who came for a study visit with the aim of exchanging experiences and learning about the work methods of the Croatian NPM. 33