A/HRC/10/59 page 6 the independence of judges and lawyers (April 2007), the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (July 2007) and the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons (February 2008). 8. In addition, the authors have relied on detailed reports provided by United Nations agencies, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and Congolese and international non-governmental organizations (NGO). The thematic special procedures would like to express their sincere gratitude to the organizations and individuals that took the time and initiative to convey information. 9. On 22 September 2008, the seven thematic special procedures shared a comprehensive seven-page questionnaire with the Government in order to provide it with the opportunity to communicate relevant information and formulate needs. A response was received on 23 January 2009, shortly before this report is finalized. Pertinent information provided has been incorporated into this report. 10. In the spirit of cooperation, the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons who had been appointed as rapporteur of the group carried out a visit to the DRC from 17 to 23 January 2009 on behalf of the group of seven thematic special procedures. Visiting at the invitation of the Government, he held meetings in Kinshasa with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Human Rights, the Minister of Gender, Women and Children’s Affairs, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Mining, and the President of the Senate. In addition, the Representative visited Goma (North Kivu), where he held meetings with provincial authorities, United Nations officials and NGOs. He also met with internally displaced persons and women survivors of sexual violence. On 22 January, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women held further consultations with the Ministers of Gender and Human Rights in Geneva. 11. The full text of this report was shared with the Government of the DRC with the invitation to providing comments prior to its publication. 12. The authors regret that several other thematic mandate holders relevant for the human rights situation in the DRC were not invited to participate in the group. They welcome the commitment of the President of the Council to making the participation of special procedures in special sessions of the Council routine and hope that mandate holders will also have an opportunity to be consulted on the outcomes of the special sessions, particularly when action by special procedures mandate holders is being considered. II. BASELINE ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION 13. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has ratified most of the principal human rights instruments at the international and regional levels, although is not yet a party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. In addition, the DRC ratified the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977. It is also a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the authors note that it has cooperated with the Court on a number of cases.