A/HRC/5/21 page 42 interests of the United Nations, and with the objective of promoting and protecting human rights, without seeking or accepting any instruction from any other party whatsoever.” Article 6 - Prerogatives Without prejudice to prerogatives for which provision is made as part of their mandate, the mandate-holders shall: (a) Always seek to establish the facts, based on objective, reliable information emanating from relevant credible sources, that they have duly cross-checked to the best extent possible; (b) Take into account in a comprehensive and timely manner, in particular information provided by the State concerned on situations relevant to their mandate; (c) Evaluate all information in the light of internationally recognized human rights standards relevant to their mandate, and of international conventions to which the State concerned is a party; (d) Be entitled to bring to the attention of the Council any suggestion likely to enhance the capacity of special procedures to fulfil their mandate. Article 7 - Observance of the terms of the mandate It is incumbent on the mandate-holders to exercise their functions in strict observance of their mandate and in particular to ensure that their recommendations do not exceed their mandate or the mandate of the Council itself. Article 8 - Sources of information In their information-gathering activities the mandate-holders shall: (a) Be guided by the principles of discretion, transparency, impartiality, and even-handedness; (b) Preserve the confidentiality of sources of testimonies if their divulgation could cause harm to individuals involved; (c) Rely on objective and dependable facts based on evidentiary standards that are appropriate to the non-judicial character of the reports and conclusions they are called upon to draw up; (d) Give representatives of the concerned State the opportunity of commenting on mandate-holders’ assessment and of responding to the allegations made against this State, and annex the State’s written summary responses to their reports.