CAT/OP/BRA/2/Add.1 17. As April 2007, aware of the obligation to establish independent national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture at the domestic level, as set out in article 17 of the Optional Protocol, the Brazilian State organized a national seminar together with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), during which there was a debate about the general principles of preventive mechanisms to combat torture. 18. In February 2008, during the drafting of the report of the universal periodic review mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Brazilian State reaffirmed its commitment to creating a national preventive mechanism, which, after countless discussions, was called the National Mechanism to Prevent and Combat Torture, in accordance with the guidelines and requirements laid down in the Optional Protocol. 19. The bill that became Act No. 12847/2013 was based on the Optional Protocol and also complied with the recommendations in the Subcommittee’s preliminary guidelines for the ongoing development of national preventive mechanisms (CAT/C/40/2, chap. IV, sect. B). 20. Act No. 12847/2013 guarantees the autonomy of the National Mechanism. It establishes that the members of the Mechanism must possess the professional skills and knowledge to fulfil their mandate, and states that the National Mechanism must be given the resources it needs to function properly. It should be underlined, in this context, that the members of the National Mechanism will be completely independent in their actions and their mandate will be fully guaranteed. They can only be removed by the President of the Republic, and only if convicted in court of a criminal offence, or following disciplinary proceedings, in accordance with Act No. 8112 of 11 December 1990, on the legal regime governing civil servants of the Union, and Act No. 8429 of 2 June 1992, on the penalties applicable to public officials for illicit enrichment while discharging their mandate, post, office or function in public administration. In other words, a member of the National Mechanism may be removed only after being convicted of a crime in court, or following disciplinary proceedings for illicit enrichment. 21. One innovation is that the National Mechanism establishes a system of regular visits to places of deprivation of liberty with the aim of preventing torture rather than reacting to it, in addition to carrying out regular, periodic monitoring of custodial units. To ensure its effective functioning, article 10 of Act No. 12847/2013 guarantees the National Mechanism and its members access without special authorization to all the information and records related to the number, identity, detention conditions and treatment of persons deprived of their liberty; independence of position and opinion in the exercise of their functions; the right to interview persons deprived of their liberty or any other person who might be able to give relevant information, in confidence and with no witnesses, in a place where the necessary security and secrecy are guaranteed; and freedom to choose what places to visit and who to interview. The Mechanism can also request reports from government experts, and its own reports may be used as evidence in court. 22. Moreover, to make the Mechanism’s work more transparent, the law provides that the information obtained in its inspections shall be made public, as stipulated in the Access to Information Act (Act No. 12527 of 18 November 2011). This enables any citizen to access the Mechanism’s reports and contribute to the debate in Brazilian society on preventing and combating torture. 23. In addition to creating the National Mechanism, the new Act established the National System to Prevent and Combat Torture to coordinate the work of public and private bodies and entities with legal or statutory powers of monitoring or oversight of facilities and units housing persons deprived of their liberty, or that defend the rights and interests of persons deprived of their liberty. 6 GE.14-42059