NPM NETWORKS In 2013 NPMs in South-East Europe established a network for fostering greater cooperation, exchanges of experience and other joint activities to enhance the effectiveness of NPMs in the region. Representatives of the NPMs of Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (in the presence of and with the agreement of one of the Ombudsmen from Bosnia and Herzegovina) adopted a Declaration on Cooperation and its initial defined objectives. The network was later enlarged to include Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary. The network also has thematic working groups, for example on legal and healthcare issues. Other sub-regional networks for exchanging experience and fostering collaboration exist in the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark). The Swiss, German and Austrian NPMs also have a network and meet annually. EUROPEAN NPM PROJECT A European NPM Project was set up in 2009 as a two-year joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union to promote peer-to-peer networks dedicated to NPM issues. The objectives of the Project were (i) to create an active network of NPMs in Europe; (ii) to promote cooperation between the SPT, the European Committee for Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and NPMs, particularly in relation to standards and working methods; and (iii) to promote ratification of the OPCAT and the establishment of OPCATcompliant NPMs where they did not exist. It also established a European NPM Newsletter, a bimonthly review of information relevant to the work NPMs in the Council of Europe region. Since 2016 the Newsletter has been produced by ACCESS. NPMs should establish and maintain contact with the Subcommittee through regular meetings and information exchanges. The Optional Protocol also requires the Subcommittee to maintain direct, and if necessary confidential, contact with the NPMs and offer them training and technical assistance to strengthen their capacity.52 CHECKLIST: THE RELEVANT ACTORS ;; State authorities (ministries, law enforcement personnel) ;; Professional groups (medical staff, journalists) ;; Parliament and the judiciary ;; CSOs/NGOs, especially those working with groups with heightened risks ;; Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture ;; Other regional torture prevention mechanisms, such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe (CPT) and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA) ;; Universities ;; Trade unions ;; Other NPMs ;; Other international and regional actors (such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the African Union, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) 52 Article 11 (b) (ii) of the Optional Protocol. KEY CRITERIA FOR AN EFFECTIVE NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM I 29