To mark its 45th anniversary, the APT is organizing on 15 November - jointly with the commune of Chêne-Bougeries - a conference-debate dedicated to its founder "Jean-Jacques Gautier: his commitment to prevent torture." Convinced that it would be possible to prevent torture by opening the doors of all places of detention to external control, Jean-Jacques Gautier founded the Swiss Committee against Torture, now the APT, in 1977. The idea of a system of visits to places of deprivation of liberty was first realized, in Europe, in 1987. Then, the APT succeeded in convincing the international community of the relevance of an optional protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT), adopted in 2002.