Independence of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) 4.1 Introduction The National Commission on the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) is a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for preventing the use of torture. It was established by the Swiss government pursuant to the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). These independent monitoring bodies play a unique role with regard to preventing torture, deriving primarily from their mandate to review detention conditions at the national level for conformity with human rights standards. The goal is to ensure that detained persons are treated with dignity and, if necessary, to issue recommendations for improving the conditions of their detention. In order for the NPMs to properly fulfil their mission, and to be able to objectively review the situation of detained persons, it is essential that they be independent from governmental institutions and that they be vested with the appropriate powers. Independence is thus a crucial requirement for them to work effectively and maintain their credibility. The manner in which such independence is assured under the national laws of the different countries, and incorporated into the respective legal and institutional frameworks is left to each of the States Party to determine on its own. However, the legal and institutional design of the NPMs remain subject to the so-called Paris Principles26, as adopted by the UN General Assembly, which serve as guiding principles for the States Party when implementing the OPCAT at the national level. With the entry into effect of the Federal Act on the Commission for the Prevention of Torture27 (FANCPT) the NCPT was assigned administratively to the General Secretariat of the FDJP (FDJP-GS) with the status of a decentralised unit, as defined under administrative law. Although the NCPT is not subordinated to the direction of the FDJP-GS, in financial matters it is subject to the national regulations. At the same time, the Commission reviews, from a fundamental rights perspective, measures involving the deprivation of liberty in federal asylum centres, during deportation flights, and with respect to pre-deportation detention, areas that all fall within National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, UN General Assembly Resolution of 4 March 1994, A/RES/48/134, p. 4. 26 Federal Act of 20 March 2009 on the Commission for the Prevention of Torture, SR 150.1. 27 32 Activity Report NCPT 2017