A/68/295 Independent oversight 81. Regular inspection of places of detention constitutes one of the most effective preventive measures against torture. In this respect, the Special Rapporteur has stressed the importance of the universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and the establishment of independent and professional national preventive mechanisms (see, for example, the guidelines on national preventive mechanisms (CAT/OP/12/5)). 82. The revision of Rule 55 creates an excellent opportunity to integrate the wellestablished, two-fold system of independent monitoring of places of detention that allows for inspections to be carried out by governmental agencies and other competent authorities distinct from those directly in charge of the administration of the place of detention or imprisonment (see the Optional Protocol, arts. 5.6, 17 and 35, and the Body of Principles, principle 29). The revised Rule 55 should make clear that the aforementioned inspection powers, as understood in the two-fold system, require judicial control to be in place. In this respect, the Rules should provide for the power of independent oversight mechanisms to have unimpeded access (on a regular and an ad hoc basis), without prior notice, to all places of deprivation of liberty, including police lock-ups, vehicles, prisons, pretrial detention facilities, security service premises, administrative detention areas, psychiatric hospitals and special detention facilities. They should be entitled to inquire and access information and documentation, including registries, and have private, unsupervised and confidential interviews with detainees of their own choosing. 16 Finally, the monitoring bodies should be able to make their findings public and follow up on the outcome (United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, rule 74). Training relevant staff to implement the Rules 83. The Rules should ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture or other ill-treatment are included in the training of corrections personnel, whether civilian or military, medical personnel and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. Medical personnel should receive specific training on the provisions contained in the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2000). Training programmes should be envisaged to sensitize personnel to permissible methods and limitations for searches and steps to prevent and remedy prison violence with techniques that do not give rise to excessive use of force. Efforts should be strengthened to ensure that personnel adopt a gender-sensitive and age-sensitive approach (see the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners) and are sensitive to the particular needs of inmates who belong to marginalized groups by, for example, providing guidance, instances and examples on principles of equality and __________________ 16 13-42285 See the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, principle 7; the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, rule 72; the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, principle 29 (2); the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, arts. 14 (d) and 20 (d); and the Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, principle XXIV. 21/23