again represented at three of these Network meetings in 2014. The first meeting of the SEE NPM Network was organised by the Slovenian ombudsman institution in Ljubljana. During a visit at the police detention centre in Ljubljana, the participants gained insight into the day-to-day work of the Slovenian NPM. Slovenian ombudsman institution An SEE NPM workshop in Macedonia was about monitoring and control of psychiatric institutions and prevention of and protection from torture and abuse. This was prompted by the current situation in Macedonia and the fact that doctors working in psychiatric institutions do not accept any form of external monitoring and control. Therefore, doctors were also invited to the workshop so that they could inform themselves about internationally established control mechanisms and practices. A lecture held by a commission member was particularly well received by the participants due to his practical experience. NPM workshop in Macedonia Representatives of the SEE NPM Network were invited to an OPCAT forum organised by the Serbian Ombudsman in November in Belgrade in order to discuss an approach to abolishing torture and the struggle against impunity in this area. The participants shared their experiences about the situation in initial reception centres, prisons and psychiatric institutions. OPCAT forum in Belgrade The NPM makes its expertise available to colleagues from around the world within the scope of bilateral meetings as well. The NPM was very pleased about Tunisia’s initiative, which is the first country in the entire Middle East to take steps toward creating its own NPM. In February, a Tunisian delegation was received in Vienna for meetings to share experiences. The goal of the visit was to support Tunisia in the establishment of an NPM, respond to questions about financing and dealing with challenges as well as discuss the criteria for selecting members for such a preventive mechanism to monitor human rights. The Tunisian delegation also met with representatives of the Human Rights Advisory Council and the commissions. Bilateral meeting with Tunisian delegation At the end of April 2014, the NPM received a delegation of the Macedonian ombudsman institution to a working visit in Vienna. The goal of this three-day visit was to inform the delegation about the setup and work methodologies of human rights monitoring and control in Austria. Particular attention was paid to national and international human rights standards, cooperation with ministries and the institutions to be monitored, as well as the role of civil society. The Macedonian delegation also had the opportunity to accompany commission members during a visit of an institution for persons with disabilities and to obtain meaningful insight into the practical work. Macedonian NPM in Vienna 22