A/HRC/38/25 including by providing better support to Member States in implementation, stronger collaboration with United Nations country teams and the establishment of national mechanisms for human rights reporting and follow-up to link the universal periodic review to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (see A/72/1, para. 98). That point was also echoed in his remarks at the opening of the thirty-seventh session of the Council, on 26 February 2018, when he stated that it was imperative for the Council and the United Nations as a whole to focus much more on implementation and national follow-up. The Secretary-General called for streamlined ways to bring the outputs of the international human rights mechanisms systematically into overall United Nations action and all its efforts to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 7. The emphasis on implementation was also one of the key outcomes of the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming, held in the afternoon of 26 February 2018, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21, which had as its theme “Promotion and protection of human rights in the light of the universal periodic review mechanism: challenges and opportunities”. The panel identified the need for strong coordination of implementation efforts at the national level, through national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up. The role of national human rights institutions and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at the national and international levels was emphasized, as well as the importance of non-retaliation for any form of cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms. Discussions also focused on the need for stronger national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up, and for a better alignment of development and human rights efforts, and thus on the complementarity between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations. The panel identified the review as a unique opportunity for countries to ground national development programmes and policies in human rights, and to move forward the 2030 Agenda, supported by the United Nations system at the national level, under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the international donor community. 8. That vision was also mentioned by the Secretary-General in his report on strengthening United Nations action in the field of human rights. In the report, the Secretary-General states that the increased focus on the follow-up and implementation of international human rights mechanisms’ recommendations provides the United Nations system with an opportunity to engage with Member States (see A/72/351, para. 9). 9. As envisaged by the Human Rights Council, the responsibility for implementing universal periodic review recommendations lies primarily with the State under review and, where appropriate, with other relevant stakeholders. The international community assists with capacity-building and technical assistance, in consultation with, and with the consent of, the State concerned. 10. As stated by the Secretary-General, the success of States in their efforts to promote and protect human rights, with the support of the United Nations, will undoubtedly depend on national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up being in place to deal with the tasks of implementation of recommendations and reporting on these efforts and the impacts achieved in close cooperation and consultation with national stakeholders. Such mechanisms will also facilitate the task of the State to draw up comprehensive national human rights action plans and recommendation implementation plans. International cooperation, including through human rights mechanisms and their recommendations, provides 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. 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, NGOs and the wider United Nations system (see A/72/351, paras. 83–84). 11. OHCHR emphasizes the importance of the active participation of parliaments in the follow-up process, as one of the key national stakeholders, also bearing in mind that more than 50 per cent of universal periodic review recommendations require or involve parliamentary action. The Secretary-General has stated that, while human rights are a crosscutting issue that should be taken into account by all parliamentary committees, the 3