-19 Ultimately, knowledge of the world is nothing but our own personal construction. There is no such thing as “objective” knowledge. The person and medium of observation influence the results of the observation. This principle has two important practical consequences. • One has to internalize awareness that one’s own position and perspective is only one among many others and not to be tempted to assume them as certain. • One has to actively seek and engage with the perspectives and interests of other actors and take these seriously as other relevant views of reality. Application of the principle in preventive monitoring The importance of this principle is readily accepted in monitoring practice. It is now common sense that conscious effort should be made to not only interview inmates and prison management, but to constructively engage also with prison staff, social services providers, prison psychologists, relevant NGOs etc. in order to get their viewpoints on concrete situations encountered, including the root causes of torture and ill-treatment, as well as possible solutions. Also, the need to engage in “a dialogue with other relevant national and international actors, including civil society” for the purpose of following up to recommendations is regularly stressed.29 However, in many countries the dialogue with civil society could be expanded and used more systematically. This includes using the full potential of special advisory boards/consultative councils. Overall, systemic thinking strongly highlights the need to apply this principle in a very methodical, conscious and self-reflective way. For that purpose, it may be useful to explicitly evaluate the existing cooperation and consider possibilities to improve the existing channels of communication. Questions for monitors • • How much time do monitors dedicate to interviews with prison staff, social services etc.? Does the broad choice of interlocutors form an explicit part of the preparation of the visit? 29. CAT/OP/1/Rev.1, para. 36. Systemic Thinking in Preventive Human Rights Monitoring