MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 39 To enable the visits to persons deprived of their liberty to begin within a reasonable period, the authorities which granted the authorisation should officially notify those directly in charge of the places of detention. Especially at the beginning, it can be useful to ask the authorities which granted the authorisation to identify a representative, if possible with a certain decision-making power, to serve as a contact for the NGO in case of difficulties of access on the spot. 3. CONTENT OF THE AUTHORISATION The content of the authorisation can either be general or detailed. The advantage of a detailed text is that it provides a better guarantee for the NGO regarding the conditions of access and work necessary for efficient monitoring. The time spent in obtaining a well-formulated authorisation is more than made up for by the time saved once the programme is underway. In certain contexts, however, access may be granted to an NGO simply because the circumstances of the moment favour such a decision by the authorities. In this case, it may be neither possible nor wise to negotiate the content of the authorisation in detail. Any subsequent refusals or restrictions must then be dealt with in the field with the officials directly responsible for the places of detention. Access concerns above all the persons deprived of their liberty and not the places of detention themselves. Visiting empty places of detention has no value whatsoever. The authorisation must guarantee: ■ access without restriction, within the place of detention, to all persons targeted by the NGO’s programme;