A/HRC/10/24
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improvement of mandates, different views had been expressed by Member States on the way the
review of mandates should be conducted and a rolling checklist had been issued as a guidance
note.
18. The former President noted that, together, the full cooperation from States and the
compliance of mandate-holders with the code of conduct would help to protect the system and
advance the implementation of human rights. He also noted that sufficient time needed to be
granted to mandate-holders to have a real dialogue with the Council. Referring to availability as
one of the criteria for the selection of mandate-holders, he advised mandate-holders to be present
at Council sessions whenever their presence was required and to the fullest extent possible, but
acknowledged that cases of force majeure could prevent this and noted that the programme of
work of the Council should in future be more predictable.
19. In the ensuing discussion, participants raised issues on lessons learned from special
sessions, the contribution of special procedures to the universal periodic review process, the
predictability of reporting by special procedures, the holding of interactive dialogues with the
Council, the implementation of the code of conduct, the translation of reports and the need to
further strengthen the work of mandate-holders. The former Chairperson of the Committee took
the opportunity to thank the former President of the Council for his work and his openness to
several issues raised by the Committee with regard to special procedures.
C. Exchange of views with the Council President and members of the Bureau
20. Participants had an exchange with the President of the Council, Ambassador Martin
Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, and with members of the Council Bureau, representatives of Canada
(Ambassador Terry Cormier), the Philippines (Ambassador Erlinda Basilio), Argentina
(Minister Raul Palaez), and Azerbaijan (Second Secretary Mammad Talibov).
21. Referring to an earlier discussion with the current and former Chairpersons of the
Coordination Committee, the President welcomed the possibility of meeting all mandate-holders
during their annual meeting. Assuring the special procedures of his continuous support and
engagement, the President hoped for close cooperation with mandate-holders in the year to
come. He warmly thanked the Committee for its input to the institution-building process, which
had been extremely valuable, to shape a strengthened system of protection and promotion of
human rights. He encouraged the special procedures to remain engaged in related discussions
and to have an open discussion on future cooperation.
22. Participants welcomed the possibility of meeting with the current President of the Council
and the members of its Bureau, which would strengthen the relationship between the Council and
its special procedures for the benefit of human rights promotion and protection. Participants
suggested giving more space to thematic reports during mandate-holders’ interactive dialogues.
The Council should pay greater attention to special procedures reports, in particular to
recommendations that set human rights standards or that provide for concrete operational
measures. Some participants expressed satisfaction at the fact that the universal periodic review
gave due consideration to special procedures’ recommendations. It was felt that the review was a
landmark achievement which would allow the Council to move towards the implementation
phase. It was noted that the Council considered the code of conduct a tool to help the special
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