EN_CPT_AR.book Page 17 Monday, October 25, 2010 5:14 PM Activities during the period 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010 Conference on new partnerships for torture prevention in Europe 29. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its inaugural meeting, the CPT organised in Strasbourg, on 6 November 2009, a conference on new partnerships for torture prevention in Europe. Universal machinery for the prevention of torture is now being implemented in many parts of the globe, including in Europe, bringing with it new actors possessed of powers similar to those enjoyed by the CPT – the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (the SPT), and national preventive mechanisms (NPMs). Already, 27 European States have ratified the treaty establishing this machinery, another 9 are signatories, and the process of establishing NPMs in these countries is underway. The whole purpose of the 6 November Conference was to build synergies between the preventive bodies at national, regional and universal level. Provided they coordinate their efforts in order to maximise effectiveness, these bodies can together have a significant impact. 30. Three topics were explored; promoting the sharing of information between the preventive bodies, facilitating the coherence of standards, and ensuring the implementation of the preventive bodies’ recommendations. Although the discussions often generated as many questions as they did answers, the Conference was successful in laying the first foundations of the cooperation and complementarity that everyone seeks. It is envisaged that more focused discussion groups will be organised in the future, to examine the concrete building blocks for developing a coherent and mutually reinforcing partnership among the different actors involved. 31. The Conference was jointly organised with the Association for the Prevention of Torture, and the CPT is extremely grateful to the APT for all the support it provided. The Conference Proceedings were published on 19 July 2010 and are obtainable from the CPT’s website (www.cpt.coe.int) or from the Committee’s Secretariat (cptdoc@coe.int). 17