10 The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002, and entered into force in 2006. Its objective is to protect people who are deprived of their liberty. People who are deprived of their liberty find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation, and face an increased risk of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Optional Protocol was founded on a desire to increase the effort to combat and prevent torture and inhuman treatment. OPCAT therefore stipulates new working methods to strengthen these efforts. States that endorse the Optional Protocol are obliged to establish or appoint one or several national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) to regularly carry out visits to places where people are, or may be, deprived of their liberty, in order to strengthen their protection against torture and ill treatment. The NPMs should make recommendations to improve the protection of persons deprived of liberty. They can also make comments on laws and regulations and propose reform. NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2018 The NPMs must be independent of the authorities and places of detention, have the resources they require at their disposal, and have employees with the necessary competence and expertise. The Optional Protocol has also established an international body that works in parallel with the national preventive mechanisms, the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT). The SPT can monitor conditions in detention and treatment of persons deprived of their liberty through country visits to states that have ratified the Optional Protocol. The SPT's mandate also includes providing advice and guidance to the National Preventive Mechanisms. — The objective of the NPM is to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. —