NGOs that wish to get the SPT to visit their country can submit information to the SPT in advance of the annual selection of countries, which takes place in November each year. The aim is to provide the SPT with a better evidentiary basis for making its country selection. This information could contain an updated description of the situation in places of detention in your country, including illustrative statistics, descriptions of possible urgent situations, descriptions of ongoing efforts to improve the situation and an outline of how a visit by the SPT is expected to improve the situation. In order for the SPT Secretariat to be able to process the information in time, it should be short and concise and it should preferably be sent at least two months in advance of the November session. At this stage, the main objective is to make the SPT aware of the relevance and need for a visit to your country, and you should thus mainly focus on a general description of the situation rather than very detailed descriptions of specific issues. Considering that the SPT generally does not address individual cases, there is no need to submit such documentation. Another method of promoting SPT visits to your country is to lobby your own government to invite the SPT for a visit. An invitation is not a guarantee that the SPT will select your country as there are other considerations involved. However, a visit invitation from the government sends a very positive signal about its willingness to constructively engage with the SPT, which can only have a positive impact on the likeliness of your country being selected for a visit. Lastly, when trying to get your country selected for a visit, it is important to consider 10 whether it is necessary to have a full monitoring visit or whether it is more relevant to have a visit that is mainly focused on NPM establishment or other aspects covered by SPT’s mandate. These considerations should be clearly communicated to the SPT. Before the visit Immediately after its November session, the SPT publishes its visiting schedule for the following year. Once this schedule is released, the SPT Secretariat begins compiling a brief containing up-to-date background information on the countries to be visited. This country brief consists of information from a variety of different sources such as governmental agencies; UN agencies, country offices, relevant special procedures mandates (such as the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Working Group on arbitrary detention) and treaty bodies (such as the Committee Against Torture); National Human Rights Institutions; and NGOs. The objective of the country brief is to familiarise the individual SPT members with the situation in the country. The brief will also form the background for elaborating a visiting schedule; for example, setting out which regions and specific detention facilities to visit. Here it is important for NGOs to make sure that the SPT has the best possible factual background to develop its visiting schedule. This can be done by submitting an NGO report focused on the situation in places of detention in your country and other issues pertinent to the broader focus of preventing torture. Depending on the local situation, this report can focus on a variety of different issues, such as: (1) the legal and institutional framework for protection of detainees and accountability for torture Working with the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture: A practical guide for NGOs engaging with SPT country visits