A/HRC/31/3 3. Special procedures 19. The Human Rights Council established two new thematic special procedure mandates: on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism and on the right to privacy. The decision brought the number of special procedure mandates assisted by OHCHR to 55 (41 thematic and 14 country-specific situations). 20. From 1 December 2014 to 30 November 2015, OHCHR supported 83 country visits by special procedure mandate holders to 60 States and territories. The mandate holders issued a total of 524 communications to 122 States (439 were joint communications), covering at least 810 individuals, including 157 women. In 2015, special procedure mandate holders submitted over 130 reports to the Human Rights Council, 39 to the General Assembly and issued over 300 news releases and public statements. 21. Through the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures and individually, with OHCHR support, mandate holders participated in the work of the Human Rights Council, contributed to shaping the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, and conducted advocacy in relation to climate change, to the situation of refugees and migrants and to the increasing need to regulate and ensure accountability of non-State actors. 22. Cooperation by Member States is critical to the ability of mandate holders to fulfil their mandates. The High Commissioner is pleased that the number of standing invitations by States for visits increased to 115 (including one observer State). Over the years, 167 States (86.5 per cent) have accepted requests for country visits and were visited by at least one special procedure mandate holder. 4. Universal periodic review 23. The second cycle of the universal periodic review continued with the participation of all 42 States as scheduled, focusing on progress made since the previous cycle. States provided voluntary midterm reports on the status of implementation of recommendations and related challenges. 24. OHCHR supported States under review, including through the Voluntary Trust Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance, by funding the travel of 21 delegates (as participants or observers) to the sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. OHCHR also facilitated the participation of 97 persons from 30 countries in three regional workshops, in Barbados, Brazil and Fiji. The partnership with the InterParliamentary Union and the International Organization of la Francophonie strengthened parliamentarians’ awareness and involvement in the universal periodic review process (by funding the participation of 14 delegates), including through briefings, trainings and regional seminars. 25. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 30/25, in which the Council encouraged States to strengthen national follow-up systems and processes, OHCHR continued to support, including through the Voluntary Trust Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance, the strengthening of standing interministerial structures and the development of national implementation plans and databases for tracking purposes. Enhanced documentation of good practices resulted in increasing requests for technical cooperation. This means that the funding base of the Voluntary Trust Fund needs to be expanded to meet growing demand. 5. Progressive development of international law 26. In September 2015, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention submitted to the Human Rights Council, at its request, the basic principles and guidelines on remedies and 4