A/HRC/33/26 Council was responding to crisis situations. It was also important to keep and develop the role of civil society in the Council and outside. In that regard, what was happening in many places on the ground was of significant concern. 35. Mr. Ndong Ella said it was vital for civil society to continue to play a key role in the Human Rights Council. Civil society had a great impact because it could warn the Council about situations of which the Council was not previously aware. The integrity and safety of civil society had to be upheld. In that regard, the international community often condemned reprisals against and intimidation of civil society representatives. It was important to understand that the Council dealt with violations of human rights in States. However, it was difficult for the Council to address cases in which non-State actors were involved. The Council should reflect on how to address such cases in the future. He asked how a commission of inquiry mandated by the Council could investigate violations committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. It was also important for the Council to work with regional human rights bodies. He stressed the need for technical assistance, noting that, during his mandate, he had dealt with countries in post-conflict situations, which had had difficulties in accepting the visit of Special Rapporteurs or commissions of inquiry. Instead of taking a confrontational approach, the key was to promote education on human rights and to have a pedagogic approach, stressing technical assistance and cooperation. 36. Ms. de Albuquerque said that she wished that the Council had a traffic-light system signalling green, yellow or red to indicate the degree to which a country implemented human rights recommendations. More attention should be paid to economic, social and cultural rights, including in the context of the universal periodic review, special sessions of the Council and commissions of inquiry, as violations of those rights were often root causes of conflicts. She also called for more space for independent bodies. When Special Rapporteurs interacted with the Council and reported on their country visits, it was important that the voices of civil society would be heard. She expressed support for cooperation with Member States to make sure that human rights were universally implemented. However, she added that, when being confronted with violations of human rights, there were moments when a spade had to be called a spade, in order to trigger action and generate positive impact. 37. Mr. Costea said that the Council should do more to use its comprehensive box of tools to their full potential. The Council should be more confident in itself and in its achievements. He noted the importance of civil society and its role in the Council. He encouraged dialogue and confidence-building measures between civil society organizations and governments at the national and international levels. Effectiveness and prevention were key issues. 38. Ms. Matar said that, while it was correctly noted that the Council was not in a formal review process, the Council could be a learning institution that interrogated its own practices. She concurred that the Council had pervasive selectivity, but expressed concern that too often selectivity was used as an excuse to address fewer countries, rather than more, and a handful of powerful countries and their allies with some of the most critical human rights situations were able to avoid scrutiny. She noted that there were excellent suggestions from the floor on how the Council could circumvent its own political nature, by creating objective criteria and thresholds to guide decision-making processes around which to take action on country situations or thematic issues at any given time. She also addressed the issue of the standards for membership in the Council. In that regard, she called for the improvement of the process for electing members of the Council by encouraging more competition, having Member States articulate clear human rights-centred criteria for their votes, and candidates articulate how they would progressively enhance human rights in their countries and what criteria for cooperation with special procedures and United Nations mechanisms at large they would follow during their membership. 9