HUMAN RIGHTS  : :  31 MONITORING To assist OSCE participating States in protecting and promoting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, ODIHR continued to independently monitor the facilitation of public gatherings in the OSCE region. In June, Canada became the 30th participating State to host an assembly monitoring exercise since ODIHR started its monitoring work in 2011. ODIHR continues to be the only inter-governmental institution carrying out independent observation of the facilitation of assemblies for the purposes of supporting better implementation of relevant human dimension commitments. To assess both good practices and challenges in relation to the situation of human rights defenders, ODIHR conducted assessment visits to Georgia, Mongolia and Montenegro. During the visits, 333 government officials, representatives of NGOs and international organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, and NHRIs (215 women, 118 men) were able to share information about, their views on and experiences of the environment in which human rights defenders operate. Based on the assessment visits, ODIHR will provide guidance to state and non-state actors in strengthening the protection of human rights defenders. The Office drew attention to new developments and trends regarding the death penalty in the OSCE region with its The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area – Background Paper 2018, published in Kyiv, 30 August 2018. Representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement training institutions and police participate in a train-the-trainer course on human rights-compliant assembly policing organized by ODIHR. (OSCE/Anita Danka) September. The paper focused on developments related to methods of execution, including new drug combinations used in lethal injections in the United States, and the lack of transparency surrounding executions in Belarus. EXPERT ADVICE In support of participating States’ commitments to prevent torture, ODIHR continued to work toward strengthening the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture system and the independent monitoring of all places of detention in the OSCE region. For the first time, ODIHR conducted joint advisory visits to two OSCE participating States (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Uzbekistan) with the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. The visits contributed to discussions about the establishment of an independent mechanism for the prevention of torture in both countries and raising awareness of the crucial roles of ombuds institutions and civil society organizations. Prison administrations, penitentiary staff, monitoring bodies and policymakers obtained new tools to assist them in implementing standards for the treatment of prisoners and ensuring human dignity. ODIHR and Penal Reform International published the Guidance Document on the Nelson Mandela Rules – Implementing the United Nations Revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in August. ODIHR, in partnership with the inter-governmental Convention against Torture Initiative, also released the practical tool Providing Rehabilitation to Victims of Torture and Other Ill-treatment.