should report publicly on their findings, identifying concerns and making recommendations to prevent further ill treatment. In the UK, the ‘culture’ of inspecting places of detention pre-dated OPCAT and so we have well-established methodologies for doing this. Almost all of our inspections are unannounced; they are staffed by specialist inspectors with knowledge of prison management, health, human rights and other areas. We aim to provide even-handed attention to the rights of all detainees, as well as focus on specific areas or groups where concerns including discrimination – be it direct or indirect – occur. I welcome the recognition of the importance of independent detention monitoring to minority rights in the draft recommendations at paragraphs 35 and 49, as well as the broader focus on minorities in detention. There are a number of ways in which HMI Prisons’s work is relevant to the protection of minorities’ rights and I will set out three main areas. Firstly, our inspections examine the outcomes that detainees experience. This means we look at whether prisoners are held safely, treated with respect for their human dignity, able and expected to engage in activity that is likely to benefit them, prepared for their release back into the community, and effectively helped to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Our inspection standards reference human rights standards. Among the outcomes we look for are many that are of specific relevance and importance to different minority groups. These include whether:  prisoners feel and are safe throughout their time in detention, and are safe from bullying and victimization from other prisoners and staff  internal disciplinary and ‘incentives’ schemes are applied fairly, transparently and consistently  relationships between prisoners and staff are positive and courteous  restrictive practices such as use of force and segregation are not disproportionately applied  the prison has strong leadership in delivering a coordinated approach to eliminating all forms of discrimination  the distinct ‘protected characteristics’ (under the Equality Act 2010) of prisoners are recognized and addressed with respect and dignity, and prisoners play an active role in eliminating all forms of discrimination  access to accredited translation and interpreting services  dietary requirements for approved religions are fulfilled  religious provision matches need in the prison and prisoners can practice their religion fully and in safety. We publish our findings on all of these areas in our inspection reports, and request action plans from the establishments we inspect setting out their plans to implement our recommendations, which we follow up on during our subsequent inspection. We also