CHAPTER 5. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION As it is known, pursuant to the Constitutional Law, the Commissioner, in line with the directions of her activity, cooperates with local, regional and international organizations48 and the organization of public relations and international cooperation is one of the directions of the Azerbaijani NPM’s activity. In 2012 as well information exchange was continued with state and municipal bodies, local civil society organizations, mass media, regional and international organizations, and NPMs of foreign countries, mutual participation at events was ensured, as well as joint events were held. During the past period both local and international communities were regularly informed of the Azerbaijani NPM’s activity. In 2012, alongside the reports delivered at this or another event, in total 83 press releases were disseminated to the media, 54 out of them dealing with visits, 29 out of them talking about awareness raising and other events. Altogether, 421 press releases were disseminated during 2009-2012 out of which 256 was about visits and 165 about awareness raising and other events. Press releases, reports on the NPM’s activities, information on the composition of the NPG, as well as relevant normative legal acts have been posted in the Azerbaijan and English languages on a special section created on the Commissioner’s website. It should also be mentioned that the translation and publication, in two languages, of the NPM reports covering 2009-2010 and 2011 have been ensured by the OSCE Office in Baku. The NPM reports, along with being posted on the Commissioner’s official website, were also sent to the relevant state bodies, UN Committee against Torture, Subcommittee, CPT, Association for the Prevention of Torture, international experts involved in this work and contact persons of the European NPM Network member countries. It should be mentioned that since the designation as the NPM the Commissioner has established closer collaboration with the above indicated bodies along with other institutions, as well as has become a member of the European NPM Network organized by the Council of Europe Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs and the Association for the Prevention of Torture. The Network organizes relevant training and seminars with the involvement of well-known experts and arranges other events to enhance capacity and knowledge of the member countries’ NPMs and improve their work. As in previous years, in 2012 several joint events were held in the country within the framework of international cooperation, representatives of prestigious international organizations 48 Constitutional Law, Article 1.4 43