A/HRC/10/31 page 4 2008 showed, States take on their responsibility very seriously, fully engaging in the preparation of national reports through broad consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and actively participating in the actual review at all levels. Indeed, various countries reviewed undertook firm commitments to strengthen their cooperation with special procedures, ratify human rights instruments to which they were not yet parties and take initiatives to better implement human rights at the national level. 6. I find it particularly encouraging that the Council provides a forum for the review of the situation of human rights in all States, including those which had not come under the scrutiny of the Commission on Human Rights. The review reveals that all States face challenges in the implementation of their obligations and commitments in the human rights area. Good practices are emerging in various States. In the longer term, I believe that, for the second review cycle, it will be advisable to identify a shorter but more precisely defined list of Council recommendations to States under review. 7. In the same vein, in the conceptualization of the second cycle, a process in which my Office will continue to play an active role, it will be important to consider the injection of independent expertise in the review process so as to strengthen it into an effective implementation mechanism with targeted and prioritized recommendations to be addressed to States under review. 8. Indeed, the new mechanism may also serve as a tool for strengthening the promotion and protection of all human rights for all on the ground. To this end, the field presences of my Office are an essential interface between the international human rights machinery and needs at the national level so that they can be reflected accurately in recommendations and conclusions, and their implementation facilitated, in particular, in relation to requests for capacity-building and technical assistance. My Office is working with other agencies, United Nations departments and international organizations with a view to organizing, at the regional and subregional levels, training sessions prior to the consideration of reports of States under review. The Office also supports the setting-up of an adequate system for the implementation of the recommendations for technical cooperation made in the context of the review process, to be funded by the Universal Periodic Review Voluntary Trust Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance. In this regard, I would urge Member States to contribute generously to the Fund. B. Thematic panels and special sessions 9. The consideration of thematic issues in the format of panels and general discussions has proved to be a practical and informal way to focus attention on a number of subjects that warrant an exchange of views in the framework of the Council. Such discussion forums seem to be particularly suited for deliberations on issues too circumscribed in scope and nature to merit the creation of permanent dedicated mandates, and for the consideration of cross-cutting topics. Urgent matters or emergency situations, however, such as the global food crisis or the impact of the financial crisis, are best being addressed through thematic special sessions. While I welcome, in principle, the proliferation of thematic forums, it is important to delineate more clearly the choice of topics and the working arrangements to ensure that discussions are substantive in nature and fully integrated into the Council’s activities in a meaningful and results-oriented manner.