A/HRC/S-20/2 II. Organization of work of the twentieth special session 1. Pursuant to paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, and in accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council as contained in the annex to Council resolution 5/1, the Council shall hold special sessions, when needed, at the request of a member of the Council with the support of one third of the membership of the Council. 2. On 13 January 2014, the Permanent Representatives of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, on behalf of the Group of African States, requested the convening of a special session of the Human Rights Council on 20 January 2014 on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic. 3. The above-mentioned request was supported by 36 States Members of the Human Rights Council: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. The request was also supported by 43 observer States of the Council: Angola, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Croatia, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. 4. In addition, the request was also supported by the following Member and observer States: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Comoros, Djibouti, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, the Niger, Qatar, the Republic of Moldova, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, the Sudan, Switzerland and Uruguay. 5. As more than one third of the membership of the Human Rights Council supported the above-mentioned request, the President of the Council, following consultations with the main sponsors, decided to convene open-ended informative consultations on 17 January 2014 and a special session of the Council on 20 January 2014. A. Opening and duration of the session 6. The Human Rights Council held its twentieth special session at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 20 January 2014. It held two meetings during the session. 7. The twentieth special session was opened by the President of the Human Rights Council. B. Attendance 8. The special session was attended by representatives of States Members of the Human Rights Council, observer States of the Council, observers for non-Member States of the United Nations and other observers, as well as observers for United Nations entities, 6