A/HRC/15/56 and European human rights mechanisms. This could be assisted by the establishment of a secretariat for the NHRIs Network in Europe and inviting NHRIs to be observers in meetings and consultations. 5. Civil society, including international and local NGOs, should be encouraged to actively participate in the process of enhancing cooperation between the UN and the European human rights systems, given their knowledge of the functioning of both systems. 6. More specific means of cooperation could include: • Meetings between members of the European human rights mechanisms and members of UN Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies • Conducting joint missions, taking into account specific criteria to determine its convenience in each concrete case. • Exchanging information and experience regarding rules of procedures, working methods and reporting procedures, in order to better define cooperation and to learn from best practices. • Keeping under review thematic areas and issues for mutual cooperation, for instance building upon the experience of the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE focal point on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. • Reciprocal sharing of best practices and lessons learned in the promotion and protection of human rights. • Taking systematically into account of reports from the European human rights mechanisms by the UN Human Rights Council in the UPR. • Reviewing the status of regional systems within the UPR. • Continuing exchanges between the OHCHR and the CoE (desk to desk cooperation) and possibly developing similar exchanges with other European institutions. • Examining the possibility of exchanging staff between European and UN mechanisms. • Strengthening joint efforts to provide technical cooperation to States. This could include training for judges, civil society, local governments and Parliaments. • Expanding the development and use of joint publications, as well as the possible adoption of joint standards and guidelines. 7. Cooperation between European human rights mechanisms and OHCHR field presences in the region should also be enhanced and the possibilities of effective collaboration with UN Country Teams and UNDP Regional Offices should be explored. 8. The possibility of OHCHR and ODIHR becoming involved in FRA’s management board should be explored. 9. Joint efforts should be undertaken by European and UN human rights mechanisms, together with NHRIs and NGOs, to achieve a greater understanding by the general public of both these mechanisms and the standards that they seek to secure. This should include efforts to expand the translation of official documents and case law from official languages. 10. The financing of European and UN human rights mechanisms should take due account of the costs involved in securing effective cooperation between them. Strasbourg, 16 and 17 December 2009 29