Since it can be assumed that the SPT members have read the NGO reports submitted in advance, it is important to focus the NGO meeting on providing updates to the reports rather than reiterating what is already in there. Here, it is always helpful to supplement the oral briefing with a short written update for the members to take with them. It is never entirely possible to predict how much background knowledge the SPT members have and where their main interests lie. Therefore, it is very important to leave sufficient time for the members to ask questions arising from either the NGO written information or the meetings in country with government representatives and other stakeholders. In this way you can make sure that the SPT members leave the meeting with the most relevant information that civil society has to offer. representatives outlining its main findings. This will be followed by a brief press release listing places of detention visited by the SPT. Since the process is confidential until otherwise requested by the government, one should not expect to hear any substantive comments on the country situation. Subsequently, the SPT will produce a report containing the findings of the visit and concrete recommendations on how to improve the protection against torture and ill-treatment. The SPT will then request that the government provide written information within six months from receiving the report on initiatives taken to implement the recommendations. Based on this, the SPT may engage in written and oral exchanges with the government on implementation of the recommendations or, in some circumstances, request a follow-up visit. When the meeting takes place, the agenda of the visit is already fixed. It is unlikely that the agenda will change unless the information presented to the SPT warrants it. This could for instance be due to new information about secret places of detention or similar urgent information. However, in the interest of proper preparation all available information to contribute to the visit agenda should be presented before the visit and not during the NGO meeting. If new information has surfaced, it will be important to explain why it is only being present at this stage, and why it is important for the SPT to take this into account in its visiting agenda. There are at least four key roles that NGOs can play after the end of the visit. These relate to the publication of the visit report; protection of the inmates in the institutions visited by the SPT; implementation of the SPT’s recommendations; and submission of follow-up information. After When the visit is concluded, the SPT will hold a confidential debriefing with government Many countries visited by the SPT will not be very inclined to publish the reports of the visit – especially not if the report exposes possible violations of international standards for treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. At the time of writing, 50% of the countries that have received the report from SPT have agreed to make it public.6 The publication of the report is absolutely crucial in order for all stakeholders to be able to engage in implementing the recommendations and to ensure that the state is 6. A total of six out of 12 states have agreed to make the visit report public. Most of the states that have not agreed are the ones visited more recently, and they still agree to publication at a later stage. Working with the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture: A practical guide for NGOs engaging with SPT country visits 13