Annexe 5 Reference texts Resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 18 December 2002 The General Assembly […] 1. Adopts the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment contained in the annexe to the present resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to open it for signature, ratification and accession at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 1 January 2003; 2. Calls upon all States that have signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to sign and ratify or accede to the Optional Protocol. Optional Protocol to the Convention of the United Nations against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Part IV National Preventive Mechanisms Article 17 Each State Party shall maintain, designate or establish at the latest one year after the entry into force of the present Protocol or of its ratification or accession, one or several independent national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture at the domestic level. Mechanisms established by decentralised units may be designated as national preventive mechanisms for the purposes of the present Protocol, where they are in conformity with its provisions. Article 18 1. The States Parties shall guarantee the functional independence of the national preventive mechanisms as well as the independence of their personnel. 2. The States Parties shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the experts of the national preventive mechanism have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. They shall strive for a gender balance and the adequate representation of ethnic and minority groups in the country. 3. The States Parties undertake to make available the necessary resources for the functioning of the national preventive mechanisms. 150