CAT/OP/MLT/1 practice, the detention authorities limit the access of the Detention Board to personal information of detainees for reasons of confidentiality. 34. The SPT urges the State party to ensure that the NPMs are given full and unlimited access to all relevant information and to all places of deprivation of liberty in order to enable them to properly fulfil their mandate. 35. The SPT notes with concern that whilst all reports prepared by the NPMs, including annual reports and visit reports, are submitted to the relevant Minister, they have never been made public. The SPT was told that the authorities saw no reason to make such reports public. 36. The SPT recommends that the State party facilitate the publication of all reports produced by the NPMs and also to ensure that their annual reports are transmitted to the SPT, in accordance with Article 23 of the OPCAT and paragraph 29 of the NPM Guidelines. 37. The SPT notes that there is very little knowledge of the NPMs among relevant stakeholders, including persons deprived of liberty, public authorities and other state monitoring bodies, civil society actors and the general public. 38. The SPT recommends that the State party (a) take steps to assist the NPMs make their mandate and work better known to the general public, (b) ensure that the NPMs are recognised as a key component in the country’s system for prevention of torture and ill-treatment, (c) contribute to making the work of the NPMs more visible by, for example, public awareness campaigns and other promotional activities including producing and distributing materials on the mandate and activities of the NPMs, in various languages, to the persons of deprived of liberty, public authorities, civil society, lawyers and the judiciary, and the public, and (d) engage a broader spectrum of stakeholders, especially civil society, in dialogues and strategic planning. IV. Final recommendations 39. The SPT recalls that prevention of torture constitutes an on-going and wide-ranging obligation of the State party. The SPT requests that the State party keeps the SPT annually informed of any legislative and policy changes and other relevant developments regarding the NPMs, in order that it might continue to assist the State party in fulfilling its obligations under the Optional Protocol. 40. The SPT emphasizes that its visit provides Malta with an ideal opportunity to demonstrate its goodwill and readiness to fulfil its international obligations under the Optional Protocol. 41. The SPT regards its recent advisory visit and the present report as the commencement of a constructive dialogue with Malta. The SPT stands ready to assist Malta, as far as it is able, in fulfilling its obligations under the Optional Protocol, in particular by the provision of technical assistance and advice, in order to achieve their common goal of prevention of torture and ill-treatment in the places of deprivation of liberty. 42. The SPT recommends that the State party distribute this report to all the relevant Government departments and institutions. In addition, The SPT recommends that the State party make this report public, believing this in itself to be a preventive measure, and requests that it be notified of the State Party’s decision in that regard. 7