CAT/OP/KAZ/1/Add.1 7. Pursuant to the National Preventive Mechanism Act, places of detention are visited by members of civil society organizations that work to protect citizens’ rights and legitimate interests, legal professionals, social workers and doctors, as well as by public monitoring commissions. 8. Furthermore, the lower house of Parliament, the Majilis, is currently considering a bill drafted by deputies that will amend the legislation governing the activities of children’s rights organizations. 9. Under the bill, the mandate of the national preventive mechanism will be expanded by increasing the number of institutions and organizations subject to preventive visits. This concerns more than 200 institutions, including children’s homes, medical institutions for children with disabilities, correctional boarding schools, orphanages and others. 10. The Ministry of Justice has also drawn up an inter-agency plan of action on implementation of the recommendations made by United Nations Member States during the universal periodic review and those of the Human Rights Committee on the second periodic report of Kazakhstan under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for the period 2017–2019. 11. The plan includes discussion of the possible adoption of the National Preventive Mechanism Act at a meeting of the Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension, a consultative and advisory body. Paragraph 18 The Subcommittee further recommends that the mandate of the Human Rights Commissioner be separated from that of the national preventive mechanism so that mechanism functions can be performed autonomously, in line with the guidelines of the Subcommittee. 12. The national preventive mechanism is established on the basis of the “Ombudsman plus” model, which was adopted in Kazakhstan on the recommendation of and in discussion with international organizations and experts, including the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, as well as leading Kazakh human rights organizations. 13. Practice has shown that the model chosen in our country to enable representatives of civil society, coordinated by the Human Rights Commissioner, to monitor all closed institutions makes it possible to effectively prevent cases of human rights violations. 14. Legislation provides for the Ombudsman to coordinate the activities of the parties involved in the national preventive mechanism and take measures to ensure that its participants have the necessary capacities and skills. 15. Act No. 51-IV of 10 March 2017 amending the Constitution anchored the status of the Human Rights Commissioner in the country’s Basic Law. This innovation, which was aimed at bringing the institution of the Ombudsman into line with the Paris Principles, attests to the growing importance of the national human rights institution, the country’s commitment to democratic transformation and its recognition of human and civil rights and freedoms as priorities. 16. Consolidating the status of the Ombudsman in the Constitution helps to substantially strengthen the national system for the protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, as well as the role of the Ombudsman, in the country’s political and legal structure. The Act of 10 March 2017 amending the Constitution introduced changes to article 55 (1-1), giving the Senate exclusive responsibility for appointing, for a five-year term, on the proposal of the President, and dismissing the Ombudsman. Parliament is an independent authority. 17. On 14 March 2017, the Commission on Human Rights attached to the Office of the President recommended that a bill on the Commissioner for Human Rights should be drafted, to include the possibility of expanding the powers of the national human rights institution, as well as its financial and human resources. 18. Furthermore, in accordance with the inter-agency action plan for implementation of the recommendations made during the universal periodic review and by the Human Rights GE.18-05420 3