CAT/OP/ECU/2 shortcomings and the incidence of pulmonary and dermatological ailments among persons deprived of their liberty in that centre, which would have served to substantiate the mechanism’s findings and recommendations to the authorities. The Subcommittee wishes to emphasize the importance of ensuring that the national preventive mechanism team is multidisciplinary in nature. After the visits 65. The Subcommittee noted with satisfaction that a report was prepared on each visit to a centre of deprivation of liberty. The Subcommittee commends the national preventive mechanism for having set up a protocol for the preparation of visit rep orts which includes deadlines for submission of the reports to the authorities and allows for follow-up visits. 66. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism intensify its efforts to improve follow-up to its recommendations, in cooperation with the relevant authorities. The Subcommittee also recommends that the reports submitted to the authorities should emphasize the focus on prevention, which is a central aspect of the national preventive mechanism’s mandate. This includes the description of situations which, although seemingly or when taken in isolation do not necessarily constitute torture or ill-treatment, if considered as a whole and sustained over time could easily be regarded as such. In this connection, the Subcommittee recalls that, at the international level, there is no list of behaviours that are considered to amount to torture or ill-treatment. The forms of behaviour in question are so varied and depend to such a great extent on the context in which they take place and t he state of vulnerability in which the victims find themselves that it is impossible to define them within more or less rigid categories that could in any way be considered to be exhaustive. IV. Final recommendations 67. The Subcommittee invites the national preventive mechanism to keep it informed about the legislative process currently under way in regard to the Office of the Ombudsman Organization Act and about any other significant new developments relating to the national preventive mechanism so that the Subcommittee may continue to assist the mechanism in fulfilling its obligations under the Optional Protocol. 68. The Subcommittee is hopeful that its advisory visit and this report mark the beginning of a constructive dialogue with the national preventive mechanism of Ecuador that will contribute to the achievement of the shared objective of preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in places of deprivation of liberty. 69. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism make this report public, as it considers that this would in itself constitute a preventive measure, and requests that it be notified of the mechanism’s decision in that regard. 70. The Subcommittee encourages the national preventive mechanism to review and strengthen its working methods and to conduct ongoing training in order to continue to build its capacity to fulfil its responsibilities under the Optional Protocol. 71. The Subcommittee is aware that the national preventive mechanism of Ecuador faces complex challenges at a time of multiple legal, institutional and structural reforms. The Subcommittee nevertheless trusts that the national GE.15-11962 15/20