CAT/OP/KGZ/2 State authorities to ascertain what the mechanism needs to permit it to properly fulfil its mandate in accordance with the provisions of the Optional Protocol. The Optional Protocol does not prohibit the national preventive mechanism from raising funds from private or foreign donor agencies in order to compensate for extrabudgetary activities not covered by the State-allotted funds. It should be borne in mind that such fundraising does not render the national preventive mechanism less independent, and that the financial autonomy of the mechanism is a fundamental prerequisite for its independence. 37. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism evaluate its financial needs to more effectively fulfil its mandate under the Optional Protocol, including the need for external experts, travel costs and extra staff as necessary, and that it submit proposals to the government authorities concerning its financial needs. This must be done following the yearly planning of the mechanism’s activities, in order to enhance the mechanism’s chance of absorbing appropriate funding. 4. Access to places of deprivation of liberty 38. The law on the national preventive mechanism provides sufficient legal grounds for access to all places of deprivation of liberty in Kyrgyzstan. Upon its establishment in 2012, however, the mechanism encountered problems ranging from denial of access to long delays in accessing certain places of deprivation of liberty, in particular those belonging to the State Committee on National Security.10 39. The Subcommittee observed with satisfaction, however, that the number of such incidents have substantially decreased as the national preventive mechanism has gained greater visibility. A few access problems remain, caused by individuals not familiar with the mandate of the mechanism. 40. The Subcommittee wishes to remind the national preventive mechanism about the scope of article 4 of the Optional Protocol, with regard to places of deprivation of liberty. Pursuant to that article, deprivation of liberty means any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority. Places and forms of deprivation of liberty include not only prisons and police stations, but also house arrest, closed centre for foreigners and asylum seekers, centres for children, social care homes, hospital and psychiatric institutions and facilities for military personnel. Special boarding or religious schools may also constitute places of deprivation of liberty. 41. The Subcommittee also wishes to emphasize to the national preventive mechanism that access to places of deprivation of liberty should be unconditional, 11 including access to any section of detention facilities to which access has been requested, irrespective of, for instance, the level of danger it may present, and to any documentation held by the facility, including of a medical, judicial or administrative nature. This entails unrestricted access to all detainees for the purposes of conducting confidential interviews. Therefore, authorities must not restrict the access of staff of the mechanism to their facilities on the basis of security concerns for that staff, because of high-risk behaviour or contagious illness of some inmates, or on confidentiality grounds. 42. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism ensure that it has access to all places of deprivation of liberty around the country and that they are visited regularly, and that the annual visiting plans include a broad definition of places of deprivation of liberty. In deciding which ward or section to visit, the mechanism should not be influenced by remarks made by staff of detention facilities regarding some inmates and some sections, and should not differentiate between different categories of detainees while conducting interviews and observing conditions and safeguards. 10 11 8 The institution responsible for internal security matters and intelligence. Article 20 of the Optional Protocol.