1.3. Directions of activity The Azerbaijani NPM performs its activities in the following four directions: - Preventive visits – regular, scheduled or ad-hoc, unannounced visits to places of detention; - Legal analysis – the theoretical and practical analysis of the performed activities, as well as information collected during the course of such activities, relevant proposals and recommendations received, and effective or draft, and compilation of conclusions and preparation of corresponding proposals; - Legal education work – with the purpose to promote the prevention of torture, the organization of legal awareness work for the staff of the Office, members of the NPG, personnel of detention places, as well as persons detained in those places, students of relevant educational institutions and academies, and preparation and distribution of related manuals; - Public relations and international cooperation – the arrangement of exchange of information with local, regional and international organizations and foreign NPMs, mutual participation at events and organization of joint events, and disseminate information on the NPM’s activity in the mass media. Along with the abovementioned, it should be noted that the NPM’s activity has been interlinked with the Commissioner’s mandate to receive applications. Thus, information collected during the examination of the applications received by the Commissioner and the special weight of complaints by each agency and entity were used as a driving force in the planning of preventive visits. The results of the Commissioner’s activities in the mentioned spheres, achievements reached, and proposals and recommendations made are reflected in the Commissioner’s special reports. The reports prepared in 2009-2010, as well as in 2011 were translated into English and published in both the Azerbaijani and English languages with the support of the OSCE Office in Baku. More than hundred proposals and recommendations aimed at improving the current legislation have been enumerated in the reports submitted so far. 12

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