42. 11 October The Human Rights Ombudsman, Vlasta Nussdorfer, attended the 55th session of 2017 the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, where the 22nd regular Annual Report of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia for 2016, the Report on the implementation of the duties and powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2016, and the Special Report on the violation of human rights of people with mental disorders with regard to involuntary placement and involuntary treatment in secure departments of social care institutions were discussed. 43. 12–14 October The Ombudsman’s adviser and member of the NPM, mag. Jure Markič, attended 2017 the 43rd Slovenian Jurists’ Days in Portorož. 44. 20–21 October The Deputy Ombudsman, Ivan Šelih, and the Ombudsman’s adviser, mag. Jure 2017 Markič, attended the 9th Conference on Dementia held in Terme Čatež, where they spoke to the participants about the experience of the Ombudsman and the National Preventive Mechanism in the field of dementia. Ivan Šelih presented the first dementia friendly point which had been set up at the Ombudsman’s office in the summer. Mag. Jure Markič presented the findings of the thematic visit to institutions detaining people with mental health problems. The subject of the thematic visit implemented in 2016 were activities which are organised in these institutions at weekends. 45. 46. 24 October The Ombudsman, Vlasta Nussdorfer, and her deputies, Tone Dolčič, Ivan Šelih 2017 and Dr Kornelija Marzel, attended the 34th session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, where the 22nd regular Annual Report of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia for 2016, the Report on the Implementation of the Duties and Powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2016, and the Special Report on the violation of human rights of people with mental disorders with regard to involuntary placement and involuntary treatment in secure departments of social care institutions were discussed. The Ombudsman presented the main findings to the deputies. The National Assembly adopted the recommendation to the Ombudsman’s Special Report on the violation of human rights of people with mental disorders with regard to involuntary placement and involuntary treatment in secure departments of social care institutions. It recommended to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia that amendments to the social care and mental health acts should be prepared as soon as possible. In accordance with the adopted recommendation, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia should also adopt measures ensuring more appropriate involuntary placement of people with mental disorders in social care institutions. 25–26 Representatives of the Slovenian NPM, the Deputy Ombudsman, Ivan Šelih, October 2017 and the Ombudsman’s adviser, Robert Gačnik, had a working visit to the NPM of the Republic of Croatia which is implemented by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Croatia. The main purpose of the visit was the exchange of practical experience in the implementation of preventive visits. For this reason, Croatian NPM representatives implemented an unannounced visit to Zadar prison, which was observed by representatives of the Slovenian NPM. The visit focused on the treatment of prisoners in the sense of how they are treated and the use of coercive measures. Such cooperation and exchange of experience with the implementation of preventive visits within the context of the SEE NPM Network has already proven useful in the past. It is an excellent opportunity for the exchange of best practices in the implementation of the duties and powers of the NPM, while it also provides an opportunity to learn about how prisoners are treated in other countries, and in this respect also the legal framework which governs the enforcement of penal sanctions. A best practice example in Zadar Prison is the confidential access to health services, as prisoners submit their requests for medical examination in special closed boxes located in every unit (and opened exclusively by health personnel). IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2017 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT 33