A/HRC/28/41 I. Introduction 1. In 2014, the special procedures continued to play a critical role in the promotion and protection of human rights. Mandate holders addressed all types of rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social – as well as issues relating to specific groups. They reported to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, undertook country visits and acted on individual cases and concerns of a broader structural nature by means of communications to States and others. They also conducted thematic studies, convened expert consultations, contributed to the development of international human rights standards, engaged in advocacy, raised public awareness and provided advice and support for technical cooperation. The examples provided in the present report are indicative only and do not reflect all activities carried out by all mandate holders. 2. The present report provides facts and figures on the composition and outputs of the special procedures in 2014, including concrete examples of their contributions for the advancement of human rights. It describes the activities of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures and the main points discussed by the special procedures at their twentyfirst annual meeting. The annual meeting is rooted in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which underlined the importance of preserving and strengthening the system of special procedures and enabling it to harmonize and rationalize its work through periodic meetings.1 II. Facts and figures A. New mandates 3. During 2014, the Human Rights Council established two new thematic mandates: on the rights of persons with disabilities, and on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. It also established a country mandate on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights. The special procedures system currently consists of 53 mandates, of which 39 are thematic and 14 concern countries. B. Mandate holders 4. There are a total of 77 mandate holder positions, of which 31 were appointed in 2014. Mandate holders come from all United Nations geographic groups. At 31 December 2014, 23.68 per cent were from the African States, 19.74 per cent from Asian States, 11.84 per cent from Eastern European States, 19.74 per cent from Latin American and Caribbean States and 25 per cent from the Western Group (see annex I). A total of 38 per cent of mandate holders are female and 62 per cent are male. C. Country visits and standing invitations 5. In 2014, special procedures conducted 80 country visits to 60 States and territories (see annex II). One Member State (Cameroon) and one non-Member observer State (State 1 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), part II, para. 95. 3