GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL AGENCY 1 – BACKGROUND The National Agency for the Prevention of Torture (National Agency) operates at the interface between German national law and the relevant international treaties, primarily the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN Convention against Torture). The National Agency’s special status and further background information regarding its structure are outlined in the following. out their activities, and are supported in this by the Secretariat. They hold regular joint working sessions to that end. 1.2 – TASKS The principle task of the National Agency is to visit those facilities in which people are deprived of their liberty (“places of detention”), to draw attention to problems, and to make recommendations and suggestions to the authorities for improving the situation of detainees and for preventing torture and other illtreatment. Under Article 4 para. 1 of the OPCAT, a place of detention is any place under a State Party’s jurisdiction and control where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty, either by virtue of an order given by a public authority or at its instigation or with its explicit consent or acquiescence. At the federal level this definition encompasses all of the approx. 280 detention facilities operated by the Federal Armed Forces, Federal Police and customs authorities. The Federal Agency is also responsible for monitoring forced returns being accompanied by the Federal Police. The overwhelming majority of places of detention, however, fall within the remit of the Joint Commission. As of December 2015 these comprised 184 organisationally independent prisons, approx. 1,270 Land police stations, all courts with holding cells, seven facilities enforcing custody pending deportation, approx. 550 psychiatric units in specialist clinics and general hospitals, 28 child and youth welfare facilities with closed units, and closed homes for people with disabilities. The around 10,900 residential care homes and nursing homes for the elderly where measures depriving people of their liberty are or can be enforced are also classed as places of detention under the above definition. As well as conducting its visits, the National Agency is also tasked with making suggestions and observations regarding both existing and draft legislation. 1.1 – INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK The objective of preventing torture and illtreatment is laid down in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). It supplements the UN Convention against Torture of 1984 by means of a preventive approach. Article 3 of the OPCAT requires that the States Parties set up, designate or maintain a national preventive mechanism. These mechanisms complement the work of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), which was also established on the basis of the OPCAT. The National Agency was set up to act as Germany’s national preventive mechanism. It comprises the Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture (Federal Agency), which is responsible for facilities run at federal level, and the Joint Commission of the Länder for the Prevention of Torture (Joint Commission), which is responsible for facilities at Länder (federal state) level. Under Article 18 of the OPCAT, the States Parties are obliged to guarantee the functional independence of the preventive mechanisms and to make available the necessary financial resources. The members of the Federal Agency are appointed by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the members of the Joint Commission by the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Länder. Members are subject to no technical or legal supervision and are independent in the exercise of their functions. They act on an honorary basis and may resign their office at any time. They may only be removed before the end of their term in office subject to the strict conditions set out in sections 21 and 24 of the German Judiciary Act. The National Agency has a Secretariat staffed with full-time employees and is based in the Centre for Criminology (KrimZ) in Wiesbaden. The Federal Agency and the Joint Commission work closely when it comes to planning and carrying 1.3 – POWERS Pursuant to the rules set out in the OPCAT, the Federal Government and the Länder grant the National Agency the following rights: + 12 Access to all information concerning the number of persons being deprived of their liberty at places of detention as defined in Article 4 of the OPCAT, as well as the number of places of detention and their location;