Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

It is widely acknowledged that one of the most effective ways of preventing torture and ill-treatment is through independent monitoring of places of detention. While international bodies have an important role to play in making such visits, they should be complementary to national mechanisms.

The need to establish independent monitoring at the national level is recognized by the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture, which obliges states to "set up, designate or maintain at the national level one or several visiting bodies" (Article 3).

The Office conducts training workshops for civil society representatives in OSCE participating States involved in visiting places of detention. The training workshop aims to build the capacity of local actors to conduct visits to places of detention by training them in the relevant international standards and visiting methodology as well as providing skills for effective reporting.