A/HRC/44/18 human rights: identifying good practices and new opportunities for action”. Over 90 members of parliament from 36 countries participated in the seminar. Participants shared examples of parliamentary engagement on human rights and parliamentary involvement in the work of United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review. They emphasized the important role played by IPU and OHCHR in guiding and supporting parliaments in these tasks. The participants also examined inspiring examples of cooperation between parliaments, national human rights institutions and civil society and considered the action that parliaments could take to create an environment in which national human rights stakeholders could work freely and effectively. The participants also considered the above-mentioned draft principles on parliaments and human rights. As noted by several speakers, the seminar was an excellent opportunity to discuss and agree on the need for greater engagement by parliaments with international human rights mechanisms and the Human Rights Council. 21. Since May 2017, OHCHR has been organizing informal briefings during the sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review for members of delegations participating in the review, especially those who have travelled from their capitals. The briefings, which are held in the first and second week of the sessions, have provided visiting delegations with an overview of follow-up processes and measures for the implementation of recommendations made by human rights mechanisms, in particular in the context of the universal periodic review, in light of existing good practices. The briefings have been received positively by Member States and will continue to be systematically offered to delegations during sessions of the Working Group in the third cycle of the universal periodic review. IV. Conclusions 22. The Secretary-General, in his report on strengthening United Nations action in the field of human rights through the promotion of international cooperation and the importance of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity (A/72/351), stated that the increased focus on the follow-up and implementation of the recommendations from human rights mechanisms provided the United Nations system with an opportunity to engage with Member States. He also stated that international cooperation, including through human rights mechanisms and their recommendations, provided an important basis for States to achieve greater results in both the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights protection at the country level. He pointed out that technical assistance in the field of human rights should be based on such recommendations and be provided in closer cooperation and partnership with Member States, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and the wider United Nations system. 23. Recommendations from human rights mechanisms, in particular the recommendations arising from the universal periodic review that are accepted by States, are one of the best entry points for engagement with the United Nations system at the national level. Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and linking it to the recommendations arising from the universal periodic review allow the United Nations to support States in achieving concrete results both in terms of the promotion of human rights and the achievement of their development targets. 24. It was also highlighted at the high-level panel discussion held on 26 February 2018, during the thirty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council, that recommendations arising from the universal periodic review could be an entry point for cooperation with and action by Governments, the United Nations system and the wider international community, including donors. Common themes of the statements and interventions made during the panel discussion were the importance of implementing the recommendations arising from the universal periodic review and the potential for a better and more focused use of human rights recommendations in action across the United Nations system in support of the prevention of human rights violations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 6