INTRODUCTION The practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is prohibited by international and national legislation and represents one of the most acute problems in the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of human rights. Effective prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment requires effective measures in the field of education of civil society and representatives of state structures, in concert with various legislative, administrative, judicial and other reforms in the country. The world practice shows that in order to achieve tangible results in the elimination of the phenomenon of torture, it is necessary to adopt measures aimed primarily at prevention. Also imperative is the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which aims to establish a preventive system of regular visits to places of detention and restrictions of freedom, undertaken by independent international and national bodies. The Kyrgyz Republic joined the Convention against Torture in 1994, thereby assuming the obligation to take effective measures to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in any territory under its jurisdiction. In accordance with the requirements of the OPCAT5, the National Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was established by the General Assembly on December 18, 2002, as the national preventive mechanism in the Kyrgyz Republic.6 The main goal of the National Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic is the prevention of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in places of detention and restrictions of freedom and contribution to improvement of conditions of detention. It should be noted that in the territory of the former Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the first countries to establish a national preventive mechanism which sufficiently meets the requirements of the OPCAT. A number of international experts in the fight against torture, including members of the SPT, Armen Danielian, Victor Zaharia, representatives of national preventive mechanisms of some CIS countries, such as Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, noted the State's desire to eradicate torture and noted the political will of the State’s leadership expressed in the establishment of the National Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 5 Kyrgyzstan joined this international document by Law of the Kyrgyz Republic dated April 5, 2008, № 52. Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On the National Center of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment" dated July 12, 2012, № 104, Article 1. 6 6 | Annual Report 2014