A/HRC/10/12 page 21 98. The Special Rapporteur considers national consultations crucially important for human rights defenders, in order for their views and concerns to be properly reflected in the national report which forms one of the bases of the UPR process. The Special Rapporteur therefore recommends that States observe the following guidelines when organizing such national consultations. 99. The national consultations, as encouraged by the institution-building package adopted by the Human Rights Council: (a) Should be organized prior to the finalization of the national report; (b) Should be inclusive and all-encompassing; (c) Should be more than merely nominal: the views of civil society should be reflected adequately in the national report. Unregistered organizations should also be invited to the national consultations and restrictive NGO registration laws should not be used as an excuse to exclude human rights defenders from the consultation process. 100. The Special Rapporteur suggests that OHCHR, subject to the availability of resources for this purpose, should give more guidance and training, preferably in the form of technical assistance or information notes, on how best to structure UPR submissions. A model questionnaire could also be developed. This would ensure that OHCHR receives information in a way that can be best processed, and would improve the quality of the summary of stakeholder information. 101. The Special Rapporteur also reminds Governments that the UPR Voluntary Trust Fund, foreseen in the institution-building package to facilitate the participation of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries in the UPR mechanism, could potentially also be used for the training of human rights defenders on the UPR. 102. Raising awareness and capacity-building is necessary in order to bring the UPR mechanism closer to human rights defenders on the ground. The Special Rapporteur therefore urges Governments that are scheduled to be examined by the UPR, to share information about the UPR mechanism within their civil society and encourage the participation of human rights defenders in it. 103. The Special Rapporteur further urges States under review to include information in their national reports on the implementation of the Declaration on human rights defenders, the steps taken to ensure an enabling environment for human rights defenders in their country, and any relevant issues pertaining to the situation of human rights defenders. 104. The Special Rapporteur urges stakeholders to systematically include information about the situation of human rights defenders and about the implementation of the Declaration on human rights defenders, in their submissions to the UPR.