CAT/OP/ECU/2 II. Context of the Subcommittee’s visit 8. The Subcommittee’s visit took place during the country’s transition to a new prison system which involved, among others, the closure of old prisons in very poor condition and their replacement with newly built, regional prisons. In the Quito region, the García Moreno Prison was closed down and, starting in early 2014, most inmates were transferred to the Sierra Centro-Norte Regional Centre of Deprivation of Liberty for Adults in Latacunga, Cotopaxi Province. The transfer of the female inmates took place during the Subcommittee’s visit to the country. The Subcommittee also visited the National Police Provisional Detention Centre near García Moreno Prison and observed that the Centre was dilapidated, overcrowded and generally in poor condition. 9. During this process of restructuring the country’s prison system, the national preventive mechanism, through its visits and recommendations, can offer essential advice to the authorities concerning the improvements being made and the changes required. The current reform programme provides an opportunity for the national preventive mechanism to enhance its visibility and position itself as key player in the area of prevention and in the protection of detainees from torture and ill -treatment. III. Recommendations for the national preventive mechanism A. Recommendations relating to institutional issues 10. The Optional Protocol was ratified by Ecuador on 20 July 2010 and entered into force for the country on 19 August 2010. In accordance with article 17 of the Protocol, the State party is to designate a national preventive mechanis m within one year of ratification. 11. By a decision adopted in November 2011 in accordance with the mandate for the prevention of torture conferred upon it by the 2008 Constitution, the Office of the Ombudsman took on the role of national preventive mechanism on its own initiative without additional resourcing. The Ministry of Justice, by official letter No. 09644 of 23 November 2011, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration that the Office of the Ombudsman would act as the national preventive mechanism. This information was subsequently transmitted to the Subcommittee, which informed the State party on 24 February 2012 that it had taken note of the establishment of the national preventive mechanism. 12. The Office of the Ombudsman has reported that the national preventive mechanism team took up its work during the last quarter of 2012 and began to visit places of deprivation of liberty in 2013. That same year, the national preventive mechanism issued the first report on its activities. In 2014, in order to operationalize its designation as the national preventive mechanism, the Office of the Ombudsman set up the National Directorate for the Prevention of Torture as a structural component of the Office. According to the information mad e available to the Subcommittee, the National Directorate is an autonomous, independent body that is empowered to issue guidelines; undertake visits; prepare reports, including thematic reports; and conduct training and any other activities for which responsibility has been delegated by the highest authority. The staff of the National Directorate were selected in accordance with the recruitment regulations applying to the Office of the Ombudsman. 4/20 GE.15-11962