Relations between the CPT and National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) After the visit 45. It is axiomatic that an NPM is ideally placed to ensure follow-up to a CPT visit and, more specifically, to monitor the implementation of recommendations made by the Committee. However, the rule of confidentiality which applies to the CPT’s visit reports until such time as they are authorised for publication by the State concerned can act as a brake on exploiting this obvious avenue for synergy. At the same time, a State which has ratified both the Convention estab­ lishing the CPT and the OPCAT surely has every interest in seeing the CPT and NPM work hand in hand. For this reason, the CPT believes that serious consideration should be given by States to the possibility of transmitting to the NPM without delay the Committee’s visit report, on the condition that it is treated as confidential until such time as the State has agreed to its publication (a similar proviso could be applied vis-à-vis the presence of an NPM at end-ofvisit talks). 46. Once the NPM is in possession of the full visit report, whether upon the report’s publication or, hopefully, at an earlier stage, the CPT intends to consult with the mechanism on how it can best help the Committee take forward its recommendations. A meeting between CPT representatives and the NPM could be organised on this subject in the country concerned (and as soon as the visit report is in the public domain, other relevant actors could be associated with these discussions). In fact, in a number of countries, NPMs are already taking the initiative and pursuing the implementation of the CPT’s recommendations; the CPT encourages all NPMs to proceed in this way and to provide relevant follow-up information to the Committee. 47. Reference must also be made to the risk of reprisals against detained persons who have been interviewed by a CPT delegation, a risk which on occasion is all too real. By virtue of their powers and capacity to ensure an immediate presence, NPMs are well placed to counter that risk, and the CPT will when necessary provide the NPM in the country concerned with the relevant information. Some specific issues Individual communications addressed to the CPT 48. The CPT receives a considerable number of communications from detained persons, or their relatives or friends, raising issues about their treatment and conditions of detention. These communications help the Committee to obtain an accurate picture of the overall situation in a given country and to identify any worrying trends. However, the CPT generally does not seek to intervene in individual cases; the Committee’s role is not that of an Ombudsperson, nor does it have the resources to perform such an activity. 19