A/HRC/7/38 page 15 discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Durban Review Conference should be a platform to take stock of the best and most effective examples and lessons learned from the fight against racism and to move the anti-discrimination agenda forward. 63. The preparatory process for the Durban Review Conference should, therefore, be comprehensive, taking into account the commitments and the context affecting their implementation at the national, regional and international levels. It should be participatory by involving all stakeholders, including victims, and should be result-oriented, aiming at setting concrete targets to be achieved within a clear time frame. The participatory and inclusive preparation of the Conference on the review of challenges and progress in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action in the Americas region is a good example to be followed. My Office supported this Conference at the request of the Governments of Brazil and Chile and I hope that it can serve as a model for other regions. VII. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 64. The human rights treaty body framework was strengthened in 2007 by the operationalization of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment established under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 57/199 and entered into force on 22 June 2006. As at 9 January 2008, 34 States had ratified the Optional Protocol.11 65. The first 1012 members of the Subcommittee were elected on 18 December 2006, and its first session was convened in February 2007. It met again in June and November 2007, and during the latter session on 20 November 2007, it met jointly with the Committee against Torture. 66. The Subcommittee is mandated to conduct visits to places where persons are deprived of their liberty in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to interact with national preventive mechanisms. The Subcommittee’s initial country visits, to Mauritius and Maldives, were made in October and December 2007; four further visits are planned for 2008. 67. The Optional Protocol creates a two-pillar system, at the international and national levels, directed at preventing torture and other forms of ill-treatment in all places of detention. At the national level, within one year of ratification or accession, States parties must have in place one 11 Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Honduras, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Uruguay. 12 When 50 States ratify or accede to the Optional Protocol, membership of the Subcommittee on Prevention will increase to 25.