PART 2: Procedures of the Human Rights Commitee and the Committee against Torture they include issues of note arising from the work of the Subcommittee, the current thinking of the Subcommittee on a number of substantive issues of significance to its mandate, and the plan of work for the upcoming year.431 c) Obligations of the State Party The successful operation of the Protocol is dependent upon cooperation between the State party and the Subcommittee. The central obligations and undertakings of the State party are outlined in Article 12 and Article 14. The State party must grant to the Subcommittee unrestricted access to all places of detention and their installations and facilities.432 Further, the State party must give the Subcommittee full access to the places it chooses to visit and the people it wishes to interview.433 The State party must also ensure that interviews with persons deprived of their liberty, or with anyone whom the Subcommittee feels may have relevant information, can be conducted privately without witnesses.434 The State party must give unrestricted access to information concerning the number of persons deprived of their liberty and the treatment of persons in places of detention, including their conditions of detention and the location and number of such places.435 Any other relevant information which the Subcommittee may request “to evaluate the needs and measures that should be adopted to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their liberty against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” must also be provided to the Subcommittee by the State party.436 The State party may object to visits on very narrow grounds as specified in Article 14(2): Objection to a particular place of detention may be made only on urgent and compelling grounds of national defence, public safety, natural disaster or serious disorder in the place to be visited that temporarily prevent the carrying out of such a visit. The existence of a declared state of emergency as such shall not be invoked by the State Party as a reason to object to a visit. After the visit to the State, the Subcommittee must communicate its recommendations and observations to the State party.437 These communications are confidential, but the NPM may also be advised if the Subcommittee deems it relevant.438 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 Annual reports, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/opcat/annual.htm. Article 14 (c), OPCAT. Article 14(1)(e), OPCAT. Article 14(1)(d), OPCAT. Article 14(1)(a), (b), OPCAT. Article 12(b), OPCAT. Article 16(1), OPCAT. Article 16(1), OPCAT. 139