What is the target audience of an NPM annual report ?

The annual report is an essential communication tool. It helps to make the NPM mandate and work better known and understood by a broad audience, including non-specialists and the media. The target audience of the report can therefore be quite large. Many actors may have an interest in NPM activities, including national civil society organisations, as well as organizations working specifically on torture prevention and detention issues, academic researchers, bar associations, practitioners working in relevant areas, and persons deprived of their liberty and their relatives.

At the global level, many institutions, in particular the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) and other NPMs, will have an interest in NPM activities.

Nevertheless, the primary target of NPM annual reports should be the national authorities to whom the recommendations are addressed, including the three branches of government (the executive, legislative and judicial) and “operational” authorities in charge of detention facilities.

Prior to embarking on the drafting of its annual report, it is therefore key for the NPM to agree internally on the main target audience and to adapt the style and format of the report accordingly. A key consideration, when defining the format of those reports, is their readability and accessibility (for example publication in an accessible format for persons with visual impairments), bearing in mind that the audience for such reports can be very broad.