MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 3. W RITING 69 A MONITORING REPORT ON CONDITIONS OF DETENTION 3.1. Content of the report The report, like the visit, is a tool for protecting persons deprived of their freedom. Its goal is to inform, persuade, and sometimes to denounce. It also provides a reference point, a marker in the monitoring process. It helps to measure the evolution of conditions of detention over time (see appendix 2). The report should contain certain general information: ■ concise information about the identity of the NGO (aims, objectives); ■ the official authorisation obtained in order to carry out the visits; ■ the NGO’s working methods; ■ the composition of the visiting team; ■ the persons deprived of liberty whose conditions of detention it has monitored: who, how many, under what detaining authority, where and when; ■ the specific objectives of the visits carried out; ■ how the information was gathered and checked. Presentation of the conditions of detention: ■ It is not necessary to go into great detail about those aspects of the conditions of detention which are adequate, although it is recommended that positive aspects also be mentioned;