A/HRC/10/54 page 10 33. From 22 to 24 July 2008, OHCHR, in close cooperation with the United Nations country team in Bahrain and the Government of Bahrain, held a workshop on the Paris Principles and best practices for the establishment of a national human rights institution, aimed to support the Government to fulfil its commitment made at the first session of the universal periodic review in April 2008 to establish a human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles. Discussions, facilitated by OHCHR and experts from Morocco, Jordan and Northern Ireland, contributed to raising awareness on key requirements of such institutions, as well as on the assistance available from OHCHR. 34. Following the adoption on 17 November 2008 by the Council of Representatives of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights Law in Iraq, OHCHR commenced work on a 3-year technical assistance project to assist the Government of Iraq to establish an effective and well functioning human rights institution. The Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq will play a role in the expert committee that will select the institution’s commissioners. The process is being developed with the Human Rights Office as its secretariat. B. Support of the Office for regional initiatives 1. The Americas and the Caribbean 35. The Network of the Americas, supported by OHCHR, organized a seminar on the role of national human rights institutions in the implementation of the Convention for Persons with Disabilities in 2007. As a result of the workshop, OHCHR supported the publication of a handbook on national monitoring of the Convention, which was translated from Spanish into English and French and widely distributed in early 2008. 36. From 17 to 20 June 2008, OHCHR organized in Brazil a regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean, in preparation for the Durban Review Conference. It was the first of all regional meetings called for under decision PC.1/11, adopted by the Preparatory Committee at its organizational session in August 2007. Representatives of 25 Member States from the region, 114 non-governmental organizations, a number of national human rights institutions and United Nations agencies and programmes attended the meeting. 37. From 27 to 29 August 2008, OHCHR provided regional training to follow up to the recommendations of the human rights treaty bodies. The meeting was held in Panama City and funded by the European Union project “Strengthening the implementation of human rights treaty recommendations through the enhancement of national protection mechanisms”. It addressed national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and the media. Representatives of the Governments of Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama also participated. 38. The General Assembly of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the Americas and the Iberoamerican Federation of Ombudsmen was held in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico on 20 and 21 November 2008. A Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights addressed the opening of the meeting and commended the Network’s members on their work in promoting and protecting human rights, in the year of the sixtieth anniversary of