PART 2: Procedures of the Human Rights Commitee and the Committee against Torture The State party has a crucial role in creating and maintaining NPMs. The State party must ensure that the experts of the NPMs have the “required capabilities and professional knowledge”.445 Regarding the composition of an NPM, the State should “strive for a gender balance and the adequate representation of ethnic and minority groups in the country”.446 To be effective it is also essential that the mechanisms operate independently of the State party. To this end, the State party must guarantee both NPMs’ “functional independence” and the “independence of their personnel”.447 The State party must also provide NPMs with the “necessary resources” for their functioning.448 Moreover, the Protocol requires States parties to “give due consideration to the Principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights” (“the Paris Principles”) when establishing NPMs.449 i. Functions of the NPM An NPM works with the Subcommittee and the State party to establish practices which will prevent acts of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment from occurring within that State. They have three central roles. First, NPMs regularly monitor the treatment of detainees in that State; this role includes making visits to places of detention.450 Second, they will make recommendations and submit proposals and observations to the State party relating to current or drafted legislation.451 Third, the NPM will communicate with and exchange information with the Subcommittee.452 The NPMs’ role in monitoring the treatment of detainees is very similar to that of the Subcommittee in visiting places of detention.453 States parties must cooperate with NPMs in permitting and facilitating such visits. Furthermore, States must examine recommendations by NPMs, in regards to treatment of detainees and also with regard to the State party’s laws and policies, and engage in a dialogue with the NPM on possible ways of implementing its recommendations.454 NPMs have to publish annual reports, which must be distributed by the relevant States parties.455 In this regard, States parties are advised to publish and widely 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 Article 18(2), OPCAT. Article 18(2), OPCAT. Article 18(1), OPCAT. Article 18(3), OPCAT. Article 18(4), OPCAT. Article 19(a), OPCAT. Article 19(b) and (c), OPCAT. Ibid., Part VII. Article 20, OPCAT. Article 22, OPCAT. Article 23, OPCAT. 141