CAT/OP/BEN/3 Commission Act do not provide the guarantees required in article 18 of the Optional Protocol. 22. The Subcommittee is of the view that the failure to establish, designate or maintain a national preventive mechanism in conformity with the Optional Protocol is a serious breach of the international obligations set out in that instrument. 23. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party make the establishment of a national preventive mechanism a priority. It also recommends that the State party ensure that the national preventive mechanism is afforded the full guarantees established in the Optional Protocol, in particular in article 18. Finally, it recommends that the process of setting up the national preventive mechanism be inclusive and that it be carried out in consultation with all relevant civil society organizations. V. Conditions of detention A. Police and gendarmerie stations 1. Physical and sanitary conditions 24. The Subcommittee observed that detainees in police and local gendarmerie stations were held in conditions that were not in compliance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules). 3 The majority of the holding cells were cramped, lacking light inside or dimly lit, and did not have running water or toilets, with the exception of the men’s cell at the central police station in Cotonou, which had a toilet, a shower and a working tap. Detainees slept on the floor. The cells were rarely clean; for example, the women’s cell at the central police station was in a state of extreme squalor (it contained a pile of refuse and faecal matter). 25. The interviews held by the Subcommittee made it clear that most police and gendarmerie stations did not have the budgets to feed the persons in custody. 26. The Subcommittee recommends that the Beninese authorities improve the conditions of detention in police and gendarmerie stations and that they take the necessary measures to: (a) ensure that holding cells have sufficient natural or artificial light; (b) improve the hygiene conditions and sanitation in holding facilities; (c) provide bedding and mosquito nets to persons in custody and exterminate the mosquitoes in the cells and the premises; (d) give the police and gendarmerie stations budgets for the purchase of food; and (e) ensure that persons in custody have access, on the premises, to potable water, toilets and showers. 2. Fundamental legal safeguards 27. The adoption and entry into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as efforts to raise awareness of the Code among police officers and gendarmes, have had a positive impact on the observance of basic legal safeguards. The Subcommittee believes that this is a very positive development. It notes, however, that the systematic application of these provisions in practice still presents some challenges. (a) Right to be informed of one’s rights and the reasons for one’s arrest 28. The Subcommittee notes that article 59 of the new Code of Criminal Procedure guarantees the right of detainees to be informed of the reasons for their arrest and their rights to be represented by counsel, to be examined by a doctor of their choice, and to notify a family member of their arrest and receive a visit from him or her. The Subcommittee observed that, in general, police officers and gendarmes respected this right. The Subcommittee noted, however, that this right was not systematically respected everywhere and in all circumstances. 3 GE.18-16165 General Assembly resolution 70/175 of 17 December 2015, annex. See rules 12 to 16. 5