CAT/C/54/2 ended intergovernmental Expert Group on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, held in Vienna in March 2014. 2. Cooperation with other relevant international organizations 39. The Subcommittee is pleased that its cooperation with OIF culminated with a highlevel OIF-OHCHR-Subcommittee meeting on the challenges and perspectives of NPMs in French-speaking African States, held on 23 and 24 June 2014 at the OIF headquarters in Paris. The meeting was aimed at assisting francophone African States parties in their fulfilment of Optional Protocol obligations, in particular the designation and establishment of NPMs, and at providing established NPMs with advice and assistance. More than 60 participants — OIF, OHCHR, the Subcommittee, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Committee for the Prevention of Torture, States parties, parliamentarians, NPMs and representatives of civil society — participated in the event, which enabled a better understanding of the outcomes achieved and challenges faced regarding NPMs in French-speaking African States. The Subcommittee, through its Regional Team for Africa, committed itself to working in close cooperation and coordination with States parties and NPMs, including through consultations during sessions and through advisory missions, to be co-organized with, for instance, OIF, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and through other permanent contacts with the Subcommittee’s country rapporteurs. All relevant anti-torture actors were to engage actively in the OIF summit to be held in Dakar in November 2014, and in the 2016 African Year of Human Rights in the context of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights sessions. The Subcommittee would like to extend its special thanks to OIF for its active involvement in those torture prevention initiatives. 40. The Subcommittee continued its cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly in the context of its field visits and of its twenty-second session. B. Regional cooperation 41. Through the heads of its regional teams, the Subcommittee continued to cooperate with other partners in the field of torture prevention, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Commission. C. Civil society 42. The Subcommittee has continued to benefit from the support of civil society actors, in particular the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the Optional Protocol Contact Network, and academic institutions, including the Human Rights Implementation Centre at the University of Bristol. It has also benefited enormously from its contact with civil society organizations while conducting its visiting programme. It would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their work in promoting the Optional Protocol and in supporting the Subcommittee in its activities. The Subcommittee would like to express particular thanks to Open Society Foundations and the Human Rights Implementation Centre at the University of Bristol for their facilitation of the drafting by the Subcommittee of a paper on pretrial detention and the prevention of torture and other forms of illtreatment in consultation. Special thanks must also be given to the Association for the 9