OBSERVATORY OF NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS AGAINST TORTURE
NPM Obs is an international not-for-profit organisation registered as an association under French law.
NPM Obs was established in Grenoble on the 22nd June 2016, the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the OPCAT (the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). The new association’s members committed themselves to joining forces with the international community involved in fighting torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
NPM Obs
is a new initiative that offers the NPMs (national mechanisms for the prevention of torture) the opportunity for an independent observation and feedback on their capacity to effectively carry out the various tasks assigned under the OPCAT.
Based on on-site observation, using criteria and indicators developed in consultation with stakeholders in the field of prevention of torture, NPM Obs
aims to support each NPM in becoming more operational and effective, as well as strengthening the NPM’s mandate, powers and means to fulfil its role and to ensure the implementation of its recommendations addressed to the national authorities. This external observation process supplements the useful and necessary steps of self-evaluation or peer evaluation.