In 2006, a new ground was covered as the UN ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, OPCAT, which the ANC-led government ratified in the same year. The OPCAT compels member states not to just pay leap service to the UNICAT but, to ensure its implementation through the establishment of national preventative mechanisms, NPMs, within one year of ratification.