When the guarantees provided for civil servants are enumerated in Article 21 of the given Law, only the protection of a civil servant and members of his/her family from violence, threats and insults against him/her and his/her family members in connection with the fulfilment of his/her official duties has been noted with regard to the issue concerned, but no instructions have been specified as regards in what and how that is expressed. In accordance with Article 35 of the OPCAT, members of the NPMs shall be accorded such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions. Taking into consideration this requirement of the OPCAT and Article 18.1 thereof, as well as the nature of the duties performed by the members of the NPG, the importance of guaranteeing their independence, and best practices in this field, it has been suggested that the law provides for relevant privileges and immunities for the members of the NPG. As regards the requirements prescribed by Articles 18.2 and 18.4 of the OPCAT, it should be noted that on 27 October 2006 the Commissioner was accredited with the “A” status by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions regarding that her mandate fully complies with the Paris Principles adopted on 20 December 1993. According to the data as of the end of 2010, 70 employees work for the Commissioner’s Office and regional centres functioning in 4 regions of the republic, out of them 12 are the employees of the regional centres (3 persons for each of the 4 centres). 50 out of them are lawyers specialized in human rights. Other employees are supporting staff. 45 out of the employees working for the Office and regional centres are men. Along with Azerbaijanis, there are persons of Avar, Georgian, Lezgin, Russian, Talysh, Tat and Jewish origins among the staff members. It is planned to pay particular attention to a gender balance when establishing a new structural unit under the Office. Article 19 of the OPCAT specifies: The national preventive mechanisms shall be granted at a minimum the power: a) To regularly examine the treatment of the persons deprived of their liberty in places of detention, with a view to strengthening, if necessary, their protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; 20