CPT: 15TH GENERAL REPORT 19. Looking beyond the Council of Europe, there have been several examples during the last twelve months of good cooperation between CPT visiting delegations and OSCE field missions, and of the participation of CPT representatives in training activities for national officials organised by the OSCE. Further, the CPT took an active part in the Human Dimension Implementation meeting organised by the OSCE in Warsaw in October 2004, and the same will be the case at the 2005 meeting. Regular contacts are also maintained with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In particular, in May 2005, the CPT’s Bureau had the opportunity to meet the President of the ICRC, Mr Jakob KELLENBERGER, and several senior ICRC officials for a broad-ranging exchange of views. At the Council of Europe’s Third Summit in Warsaw (May 2005), the Heads of State and Government, when addressing relations with the European Union, called for strengthened cooperation between the EU and specialised Council of Europe bodies, including the CPT. The Committee’s delegations do on occasion meet with EU representatives in the course of visits, in particular in certain countries of the Balkan and South Caucasian regions. Moreover, there are regular contacts with representatives of the European Commission concerning the CPT’s findings in EU candidate countries which are in the public domain. The CPT will strive to develop cooperation with relevant EU bodies; strengthened relations may be possible, for example, in the context of finding means of ensuring the effective implementation of the Committee’s recommendations (cf. also paragraphs 21 to 23). 20. Reference should also be made to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture, which is expected to enter into force in 2006. This will lead to the setting up of a Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture as well as national preventive mechanisms. The Optional Protocol explicitly encourages the Sub-Committee and regional bodies such as the CPT to “consult and cooperate with a view to avoiding duplication”, and the CPT has already tabled a specific proposal aimed at facilitating that process (cf. the Committee’s 13th General Report CPT/Inf (2003) 35, paragraph 22). In the meantime, the CPT stands ready to share its experience with those responsible for setting up the new mechanisms provided for by the Optional Protocol. Representatives of the Committee have already participated in meetings on this subject organised by the Association for the Prevention of Torture in association with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. 9 21. On-site monitoring of the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty is not an end in itself; to be worthwhile, it must be accompanied by effective means of ensuring the implementation of recommendations made. It is first and foremost for Parties to the Convention to take decisive action to improve the situation in the light of the CPT’s recommendations. However, it is also incumbent upon the Committee itself to explore all avenues to promote the taking of such action by the Parties. 22. Reference was made in the 14th General Report to the idea of organising a pilot project in a limited number of countries amongst those experiencing difficulties with the implementation of the CPT’s recommendations, especially those requiring significant financial investment (cf. CPT/Inf (2004) 28, paragraph 13). A document fleshing out this proposal has just been presented to the Committee of Ministers, and the CPT hopes that it will be viewed favourably; it could do much to ensure that the Committee’s recommendations lead to tangible results. 23. The CPT is also rethinking its working methods in order to deal with situations where key recommendations repeated after multiple visits remain unimplemented. Yet another visit or the issuing of a public statement are not necessarily the best tools with which to make progress. A more intense dialogue involving face-to-face discussions with the relevant national authorities will be the route chosen in appropriate cases; there have been recent fruitful examples of this approach. Further, more might be done by the CPT to ensure that its main concerns are fully understood by national authorities as from the outset. In certain cases, the Committee will seek to organise high-level talks simultaneously with the transmission of a visit report, thereby providing the opportunity to highlight and, if necessary, clarify the most important recommendations.