Report of the CHR on the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland awareness of the needs and limitations of persons with disabilities. The representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism, together with experts from foundations, recommended that corrections inside and outside residential cells be introduced. In order to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their rights and powers during penitentiary isolation, changes must be introduced outside residential cells as well. These changes involve providing, among others: adequately wide corridors, pay telephones placed at an appropriate height or an elevator, stair lifts or lifts. Furthermore, it is essential to eliminate the difference in height on roads leading from a residential building to a prison yard by using the so-called lowered curbs, while walking areas should be equipped with benches with their seat at a height of 45-55 cm, provided with a backrest and armrests to make it easier to move from a wheelchair to a bench. Polish penitentiary establishments house not only persons deprived of their liberty in wheelchairs, but also inmates with impaired sight and hearing. The establishments should also be adjusted to the needs of such persons by using: contrast markings of changes in surface and stair height, non-slip stair strips, portable induction loops, audio books or an assisting computer programme which “reads” content displayed on a monitor. In conclusion, the representatives of the NPM remind that the obligation to take all reasonable steps to ensure that prisoners with disabilities have full and effective access to prison life on an equitable basis rests with administrators of individual penitentiary establishments pursuant to both Rule 5(2) of Mandela Rules and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In order to meet the specified requirements, the Prison Service held training, entitled “Breaking barriers in dealing with persons with disabilities in penitentiary isolation”, on 23 September 2015 in the Warsaw-Białołęka Pre-Trial Detention Centre. The training was conducted by representatives of the “Polska bez barier” Foundation. It was a pilot meeting aimed at conveying knowledge on persons with disabilities, indicating normal patterns of behaviour and attitudes towards them. In 2015, 10 training courses of this type were held in Poland. Situation of persons with intellectual disabilities On 2 November 2015, the CHR took up an ex-officio case of placing persons with intellectual or mental disabilities in penitentiary establishments. The employees of the OCHR undertook to analyse personal records held by the Prison Service and court records of persons with intellectual or mental disabilities to investigate whether they were guaranteed the right to defence in jurisdiction and enforcement proceedings and whether the degree of their disability makes the execution of their prison sentence inexpedient. Personal interviews with 100 persons with intellectual or mental disabilities in 36 establishments were held. Furthermore, 7 diagnostic centres were visited and all convicts staying there were met. 22