PP ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ACTIVITIES OF THE NPM N PM Dear readers, In front of you is the first report of the Office of the Ombudswoman on the performance of activities of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (NPM), which presents our work in 2012. For us, it is important just because it is the first report of such kind in Croatia. While preparing it, we went through a double process of learning. On one hand, as an institution we are learning how to perform the role of NPM as successfully as possible, since for us this is a new mandate and surely a challenging one. At the same time, we are learning how to convey information on our work to the public by writing such type of report. Our insights and recommendations must reach those decision-makers whose decisions influence the respect for human rights of persons deprived of liberty: Croatian Parliament, ministries, but also civil servants who work with persons deprived of liberty on a daily basis, and, ultimately, the confined individuals. The Office of the Ombudsman, along with associates from academia and civil society, started carrying out NPM's tasks in July 2012, after obtaining the minimum prerequisites for its work, according to the requirements stipulated in the Act on National Preventive Mechanisms against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (NPM) and Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). In the first year we visited seven institutions where persons deprived of liberty are placed – three in prison system, two police detention and custody units and two homes for adult persons with mental impairments. During our visits we did not find cases of torture, though we noted cases containing elements of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. After each visit we prepared reports on our findings with recommendations and delivered them to the competent bodies, as well as to the oversight bodies. In 2013 we continued our visits more intensely, whereby monitoring to which extent our recommendations have been implemented.