The Committee members are independent experts and States are required to allow such visits. 40. Visits to any state are normally scheduled in advance but occasional ad hoc visits may also take place. Once it is in a State, the CPT can visit any place where people are deprived of their liberty without giving advance notice. Its meetings are private, as are its discussions and reports. The report may be published if the State fails to co-operate and the Committee decides by a two third majority to do so. 41. European Committee of Social Rights: The function of the European Committee of Social Rights is ‘to judge the conformity of national law and practice with the European Social Charter’. It operates two monitoring procedures: a reporting system and collective complaint system (e.g. by NGOs). Note that in its constituent instruments the Committee is called a Committee of experts/Committee of independent experts. 42. European Commissioner for Human Rights: The position of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe was established in 1999. The role of the Commissioner is to promote the effective observance and full enjoyment of human rights, to identify possible shortcomings in the law and practice and to assist member states in their efforts at addressing those shortcomings. 43. The Commissioner can undertake regular visits to member states and address the situation of vulnerable persons; such as, women in prisons, children with mental health issues, refugees and ethnic minorities and publishes an annual report covering his activities, including summaries of reports on the human rights situation in countries visited. Organisation of American States Key instruments 44. The Organisation of American States is established under the OAS Charter adopted by Ninth International Conference of American States in 1948 and entered into force in 1951. 45. The key human rights instruments of the Organisation of American States are:       American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) The American Convention on Human Rights (1969) The Protocol of San Salvador in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1988) The Protocol to Abolish the Death Penalty (1990) The Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (1985) The Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons (1994) 17