The United Nations Human Rights System 1 CAT, CMW, CED) or through ratification of the relevant Optional Protocol (ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, CRC, CRPD). Communications are subject to admissibility criteria such as exhaustion of all domestic remedies prior to submission of the communication to the Treaty Body. The admissibility criteria are spelled out in the respective treaty or the optional protocol. They are mostly identical although slight differences exist depending on the treaty in question.13 Once the Treaty Body considers the submission of the individual and the observations of the State party concerned on the case, it adopts views (or a decision) on its admissibility and merits and any decision on remedies, if relevant. The Treaty Bodies’ views (decisions) represent an authoritative interpretation of the respective treaties. They contain recommendations to the State party in question. All Treaty Bodies have developed procedures for monitoring whether State parties have implemented their decisions (so-called follow-up procedures), since they consider that, by accepting the complaint procedures, State parties have also accepted an obligation to respect the committee’s findings. The State parties have to include information on implementation of the views and decisions of the committees in the individual cases systematically in their periodic reports. c) Country Visits: the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has a mandate to visit all places where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty within the jurisdiction and control of State parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). State parties to the OPCAT are obliged to allow visits by the Subcommittee. The visits are of a preventative nature and are meant to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their liberty against torture and ill-treatment. Following a visit, the Subcommittee issues a confidential report containing recommendations to the relevant State authorities with a view to improving the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. These reports constitute the basis of the dialogue between a State party and the Subcommittee with a view to preventing torture and ill-treatment. Reports are made public at the request of the State party concerned.14 The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) has also the mandate to undertake country visits if it receives reliable information indicating that a State party is seriously violating the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. If the State party agrees to the visit, it works together with the Committee on the modalities of such a visit and provides the Committee with all the necessary facilities for the successful completion of the visit. Following the visit, the Committee communicates to the State party its observations and recommendations.15 d) Inquiries: six Treaty Bodies (CAT, CEDAW, CESCR, CRC, CRPD and CED) have a mandate to conduct inquiries when they receive reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by a State party of rights set forth in the treaty.16 With the exception of CED, for which State parties automatically accept the committee’s competence when they ratify the Convention, inquiries may be undertaken only with respect to State parties that have recognized the 13 For more details, please refer to Factsheet No. 7 Rev. 2 on Individual Complaint Procedures under the United Nations human rights treaties, OHCHR, 2013, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet7Rev.2.pdf 14 The SPT public visit reports are available at the SPT webpage at tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBOdyExternal/CountryVisits. aspx?SortOrder=Alphabetical 15 Article 33 of ICPPED. 16 Article 20 CAT, article 8 of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, article 6 Optional Protocol to CRPD, article 33 of CED, article 11 of the Optional Protocol to ICESCR and article 13 of the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure to CRC. 11