A/HRC/10/44/Add.5 page 20 Georgia Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur in the report of his visit to Georgia in February 2005 (E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3, paras. 60-62). 12. On 2 December 2008, the Special Rapporteur sent the table below to the Government of Georgia requesting information and comments on the follow-up measures taken with regard to the implementation of his recommendations. The Government provided comprehensive information on steps taken on 28 February 2008, on 20 and 26 January 2009. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government for the very detailed and thorough replies provided to him. He reaffirms that he continues to stand ready to assist in all efforts to prevent and combat torture and ill-treatment. 13. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the adoption of the Anti-torture action plan and trusts that, by assigning tasks to specific bodies and through improving cooperation, it will render the fight against torture more effective. He hopes that its implementation will constantly be reviewed and is looking forward to learning about the concrete results it will bring about. Similarly, he notes with satisfaction that efforts to establish a national preventive mechanism (NPM) in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture are on-going. He encourages the Government to ensure that the NPM becomes functional as soon as possible and that civil society is fully included in the process of its creation and in its work. 14. The Special Rapporteur commends on-going institutional reforms, e.g. integration of the Prosecutor’s Office in the Ministry of Justice, the creation of a new Ministry of the Penitentiary and Probation, and the establishment of the national forensic service as a stand-alone body. He looks forward to receiving information on how these institutional changes translate into concrete improvement on the ground. 15. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes recent measures taken to address overcrowding in places of detention. However, he regrets that reports still indicate that the overall number of persons deprived of their liberty continues to grow and that non-custodial punishment measures, such as fines and bail are not sufficiently applied. In this context, he hopes that the Criminal Justice Reform Inter-Agency Coordinating Council will contribute to strengthening the use of non-custodial measures and looks forward to hearing about progress in this regard.