Why is it important for NPMs to actively engage in shaping laws and policies?

Strong and effective domestic laws and policies that comply with international and regional standards are a key and foundational component of effective torture prevention in practice. For this reason, any NPM seeking to be a driver of change must engage with the relevant policy and legal frameworks. This engagement will be built on the findings of their preventive visits and their analysis of the risks factors and root causes leading to ill-treatment. 

NPMs are uniquely placed to promote and foster systemic and sustainable changes in support of torture prevention. Not only can they gather first-hand information from inside places of deprivation of liberty. As noted above, the OPCAT also grants them the power to make recommendations to relevant authorities, and to submit proposals and observations on existing or draft legislation (Article 19). The authorities themselves are bound by the OPCAT to enter into dialogue with the NPM on the substance of these recommendations. 

Furthermore, NPMs’ unique approach, rooted in interviews and observations made during regular visits to places of deprivation of liberty and an analytical capacity based on multidisciplinary expertise gives them the ability to understand the complex risk factors that make torture and ill-treatment more likely. These risk factors include particular moments (such as the first hours of police custody), groups in situations of vulnerability, particular places, and particular practices that put people at heightened risk. The underlying reasons why all of these risks exist may lie in policies and in law.