MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 11 INTRODUCTION “The Special Rapporteur is convinced that there needs to be a radical transformation of assumptions in international society about the nature of deprivation of liberty. The basic paradigm, taken for granted over at least a century, is that prisons, police stations and the like are closed and secret places, with activities inside hidden from public view. (…) What is needed is to replace the paradigm of opacity by one of transparency. The assumption should be one of open access to all places of deprivation of liberty.” Sir Nigel Rodley, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture 3 July 2001, A/56/156, §35 Transparency and public control of the administration form part of any system based on the principles of democracy and rule of law. This is especially true in the case of monitoring the power of the State to deprive people of their liberty. Monitoring at the national level the treatment and conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty through unannounced and regular visits is one of the most effective means to prevent torture and ill-treatment. Such monitoring should not be limited to national independent institutions, but nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) should also be able to have access to places where persons are deprived of their liberty. Access, however, is only the beginning of the monitoring process. NGOs which would like to start a monitoring programme should be aware of what this actually involves. This is why the Association for