A/HRC/10/12 page 13 (a) Analysis of references to human rights defenders 49. The majority of national reports submitted in the first three cycles of the UPR did not contain any reference to human rights defenders, or to the Declaration on human rights defenders. Out of the 48 States examined in the first three sessions, 13 national reports contained references to human rights defenders. 50. On a positive note, however, it has to be highlighted that in a majority of the national reports of those countries visited by the mandate holder the situation of human rights defenders was referred to in one way or another. This demonstrates that a recent visit by the mandate holder does make a real difference in lending visibility to defenders in the UPR process. It is also a further indication of the impact, and the contribution to raising the profiles of defenders within their societies, which a visit by the mandate holder can have. 51. Of note is that the national reports of Guatemala and Colombia either contained a separate section dedicated to human rights defenders (Colombia), or included various initiatives concerning defenders (Guatemala). The national report of Colombia recognized the differences between the perceptions of the Government and of certain NGOs regarding the work of the Government in the protection of human rights. 52. Several national reports admit difficulties faced by human rights defenders, violations committed against them and measures taken to remedy the situation. The national report of the Philippines refers to a major reduction in killings of activists and members of the media. The report also mentioned the recent formation of a task force to investigate these killings. Other national reports contained references to recent, or in principle agreed upon, visits of the mandate holder. 53. As a whole, detailed references to, or separate sections on, human rights defenders in the national reports seem to be still the exception, rather than the rule. (b) National consultations with civil society: good practices, areas for improvement 54. According to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 on institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council, “States are encouraged to prepare the information through a broad consultation process at the national level, with all relevant stakeholders.”11 55. Broad consultations at the national level, with all relevant stakeholders, should always include NGOs working on human rights issues, and in particular human rights defenders. The Special Rapporteur observes that some States examined in the first three rounds of the UPR did not follow the recommendation of the institution-building package of the Human Rights Council, and failed to convene national consultations prior to finishing the national report. In other cases such consultations were convened, but were reportedly either not meaningful, or did not include human rights defenders. Another problem was that these consultations were limited only to registered NGOs, something which can pose serious problems in States which apply strict 11 Ibid.