CAT/OP/MKD/1 71. The Subcommittee reminds the State party that the national preventive mechanism should have a separate secretariat and its own staff and should be able to have recourse to external experts, when such expertise is not available internally. It recommends that the State party facilitate training for members of the mechanism. Such training should cover interview techniques, visiting procedures and the skills to detect signs and risks of torture and ill-treatment, as well as how to follow up on recommendations, and develop working methods and a visiting methodology that will highlight institutional and systemic challenges, including those affecting groups or minorities subjected to discrimination. The Subcommittee also recommends that the mechanism continue to develop its capacity through increasing cooperation with the Subcommittee and through engagement with other national preventive mechanisms and networks, particularly the South-East Europe NPM Network. 72. The Subcommittee is concerned that despite the many recommendations made to the State party by the national preventive mechanism, little has been done in the way of implementation. The Subcommittee notes that there is no written procedure or institutionalized forum where recommendations arising from mechanism visits by the mechanism are presented to the State authorities and subsequently followed up. 73. The Subcommittee recommends, as a matter of priority, that the relevant public authorities meet with the national preventive mechanism directly to discuss the implementation of its recommendations, in accordance with article 22 of the Optional Protocol. It recommends that the State party and the mechanism enter into a meaningful process of continuous dialogue, with a view to implementing recommendations made by the mechanism. In particular, the Subcommittee encourages the State party to introduce, together with the mechanism, an institutional forum for the discussion of, and follow-up to, visit reports by the mechanism. 74. The meetings held by the Subcommittee with the relevant authorities and visits to places of detention revealed that there is limited knowledge about the national preventive mechanism. The Subcommittee considers that its preventive activities could be strengthened by increasing awareness of the mechanism and its work, which should go beyond the few posters observed in some of the places of detention visited. In particular, the Subcommittee notes that the mechanism is not a separate organizational unit within the Office of the Ombudsman, as envisaged by the Law on the Ombudsman. In particular, there should be greater awareness of the reports by the mechanism and to the degree to which its recommendations have been implemented. 75. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that the national preventive mechanism is recognized as a key component of the State party’s system for preventing torture and ill-treatment; (b) Contribute to making the work of the mechanism more visible by, for example, organizing awareness-raising campaigns and other promotional activities, including the production of materials on the mandate and activities of national preventive mechanisms and their distribution, in various languages, to persons deprived of their liberty, public authorities, civil society organizations, lawyers, members of the judiciary and the general public; (c) Facilitate the publication of all reports to be produced by the national preventive mechanism, including the annual reports that are transmitted to the Subcommittee, bearing in mind article 23 of the Optional Protocol and paragraph 29 of the guidelines on national preventive mechanisms (CAT/OP/12/5). VIII. Final recommendations 76. The Subcommittee regards its visit and the present report as the commencement of a constructive dialogue with the State party. It stands ready to assist the State party, 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 places of deprivation of liberty. In particular, it is 15