On October 20, 2022, the Head of the National Preventive Mechanism (Department) of the Georgian Public Defender’s Office, Nika Kvaratskhelia, was elected a member of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) for a 4-year term. Georgian candidate Nika Kvaratskhelia has been working in the Georgian Public Defender’s Office since 2013. He actively participates in global campaigns against torture and promotes awareness of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

At the 9^th meeting of the states parties to the Optional Protocol held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Georgian candidate won with 75 votes out of 87 attendees. Candidates from 17 countries were nominated for 13 vacant positions.

The Subcommittee carries out regular independent international visits to places of detention and restriction of liberty in states parties to the Protocol in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and also to promote the establishment and operation of national preventive mechanisms for the implementation of the Protocol. The Subcommittee began operation in 2007. It brings together 25 independent experts and is one of the largest treaty bodies operating in the UN system.