International cooperation The SPT addressed the Human Rights Defender with a proposal to establish cooperation in exchange of information. In reply, the Human Rights Defender presented the rules of operation of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland, including its financing, the most common problems and the action plan for 2012. A representative of the Polish NPM took part in an international conference entitled “5 years of the operation of the National Preventive Mechanism in Moldova” held in Chisinau on 26 and 27 July 2012. She presented the legal grounds, organisation and rules of operation of the Mechanism in Poland. A speech on the same subject was also delivered by a representative of the NPM at the Fourth East European Conference on National Preventive Mechanism against Tortures and Ill-treatment15 in Odessa.16 On 26 November 2012, the representatives of the NPM Team met with the representatives of the Ombudsman’s office in Uzbekistan. The meeting was an opportunity to present the Polish NPM model. The participants of the meeting visited one of the largest pre-trial detention centres in Poland, i.e. Pre-trial Detention Centre Warsaw – Mokotów. On 11 December 2012, a representative of the Team met with Peter Tyndall, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. The meeting included the presentation of the Polish NPM model and of the main problems identified in places of detention, as well as the presentation of the Welsh system of monitoring the places of detention17. The Fourth East European Conference on National Preventive Mechanism Against Tortures and Ill-treatment was held on 15-16 November 2012 in Odessa (Ukraine). 16 Since Ukraine must choose a model of NPM for itself, the invited guests were asked to present the models functioning in their countries. 17 The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales pointed to the differences in the approach to state support for elderly persons and the physically or intellectually disabled. While in Poland such persons are referred to social care centres, in Wales they remain at their homes and receive appropriate assistance in running their households and handling their business. Only in very serious cases such persons are referred to special centres. The care for mentally ill persons is organised according to the similar pattern – they stay at home and have a psychiatrist assigned who visits them at home. 15 15