CAT/OP/CHE/CSPRO/1 of external experts and interpreters working into various languages; conduct its follow-up activities; work in partnership with actors involved in torture prevention; and satisfy all the logistical requirements for its proper functioning. 18. The Federal Council dispatch regarding the Federal Act on the Commission for the Prevention of Torture stated that the Commission was expected to make 20 to 30 visits a year to places of deprivation of liberty. At the time, the Federal Council estimated that the cost of these visits would come to 184,000 Swiss francs (SwF) at most. When it was established, the Commission was assigned a permanent secretariat with 1.3 full-time equivalent posts and a budget of SwF 360,000 a year until 2012. 19. In the years that followed, the Commission’s budget was increased as it was tasked with new functions such as monitoring deportations under the law on foreign nationals, monitoring federal asylum centres and conducting a project to review human rights standards and medical care for persons held in places of deprivation of liberty. As at 1 September 2020, the secretariat has 3.4 posts and an overall budget of SwF 960,600. In addition, the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Justice and Police provides funding for a university student to undertake an internship in the Commission’s secretariat. The Commission is not billed for rent or computer support. Should the Commission be separated from the federal administration, it would have to cover these costs from its existing budget. 20. The Commission decides autonomously how to use its financial resources and how many visits it can carry out within its budget. Since the introduction of the new management model of the federal administration, the Commission’s budget must be managed as part of the overall budget of the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. 21. The Commission has thus far been exempted from any requirement to make savings but, like all federal administrative units, must organize its financial planning so as to respect the financial framework. When the Federal Finance Administration was consulted on whether an individual appropriation within the meaning of article 30a (5) of the Finance Act4, as an alternative to funding from the overall budget of the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, would afford the Commission greater autonomy, it stated its opposition to the creation of an individual appropriation. Under article 30a (5), such appropriations may be used only to fund major individual measures and projects. 22. In 2019, the Commission conducted 23 monitoring visits to places of deprivation of liberty. The Federal Council believes that the Commission and its secretariat currently have sufficient financial and human resources to fulfil the mandate laid down in the Federal Act. The Commission has the necessary flexibility to use its resources as it sees fit, but it is also required to set priorities. C. Members and secretariat 23. Paragraphs 35, 39 and 40: The Subcommittee recommends that the State party review the working conditions of the Commission’s members to enable them to devote themselves fully to the activities of the national preventive mechanism, including by making it possible for some of them to work full-time and by allocating the financial resources necessary for their remuneration. 24. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party guarantee the independence of its national preventive mechanism, in accordance with article 18 (1) of the Optional Protocol, and its effectiveness, by significantly increasing the staff of the Commission secretariat and ensuring that all members of the Commission’s staff work exclusively for it, under its direct oversight. 25. More generally, the Subcommittee is of the view that an expanded permanent secretariat entirely devoted to carrying out the mandate of the national preventive mechanism, with staff working full-time, would be better able to define and implement an effective operational strategy. 4 GE.21-03864 RS 611.0. 5