National Preventive Mechanism Second Annual Report 2010–11 Alongside the powers to examine the treatment of detainees and make recommendations, Article 19(c) of OPCAT states that NPMs shall be granted the power ‘to submit proposals and observations concerning existing or draft legislation’. Members considered how best to fulfil this strategic preventive role that OPCAT envisages for NPMs and the extent to which, individually or collectively, members use their experience to comment on legislation, as well as simply visiting places of detention. The extent to which individual members of the UK NPM exercise the power set out in Article 19(c) varies. Some members comment only on issues that arise directly from individual visits or inspections, while others produce thematic reports which may be seen as more strategic in nature. Some members regularly comment on existing or draft legislation. While some may not have an explicit power to do so, there is nothing in their mandates to prevent such comment. Members noted that Article 19(c) provides an opportunity for the 18 members of the NPM to comment collectively on issues within their remit and may even create an expectation that they do so. It was recognised that there could be great strength in the bodies coming together in this way. However, the members acknowledged that collectively commenting on issues may be challenging. There is the obvious difficulty in achieving consensus among 18 independent organisations, and some issues may not be appropriate for comment by all members (for example, where the issue relates to a type of detention visited only by some members or relates only to one jurisdiction within the UK). The members of the NPM will continue to explore how they can fulfil Article 19(c) of OPCAT, both individually and collectively. 12 The NPM members agreed to take collective action, for the first time, in relation to allegations that UK agencies were complicit in the torture of detainees being held abroad. While the conduct alleged may not necessarily have related to detainees within the UK’s jurisdiction or control and therefore fallen within the remit of the NPM, the allegations nonetheless involved agents of the UK and their treatment of detainees. The members of the NPM therefore wrote to the government, welcoming its intention to initiate an inquiry into the allegations and recommending that it be conducted in an independent, impartial and transparent manner, in accordance with international human rights standards. The members noted their interest in its outcome and offered advice on the safeguards necessary to prevent torture and other forms of illtreatment in places of detention. Following the meeting in June 2010, the NPM began to take forward the suggested future activities. In March 2011, the NPM held its first thematic workshop on mental health in detention. This theme was chosen for the first workshop because, as noted in our first annual report, the issue of detainees with mental health problems was perhaps the most significant and recurring concern among the members, across all types of detention. The purpose of the workshop was to: • raise awareness of mental health issues affecting detainees • raise awareness of relevant legal standards • share information about good practice in the monitoring of detainees with mental health issues • strengthen links between the NPM members.