NPM: AOB and Council of Europe discuss training cooperation

The implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) entrusted the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) with the function of National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). It is of great importance to the AOB to meet all international requirements and take on this new task in the best possible way which is why, among a whole range of preparatory measures, the AOB is currently preparing a series of trainings for its staff and the members of the six expert Commissions.

Over the years the AOB has built excellent networks on the international level and can now rely on international support in order to meet all international requirements. In this context the AOB will certainly benefit from the Council of Europe’s experience and expertise regarding customized trainings that will help to incorporate standards developed by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). For this purpose Ombudsman Peter Kostelka held a working meeting with representatives of the Council of Europe, SPT and CPT in Strasbourg at the beginning of July.

In the near future the AOB will also intensify cooperation with the respective independent Ombudsman Institutions in Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Poland which are entrusted with NPM tasks.