A/HRC/28/3 14. In 2014, OHCHR facilitated the review of 147 State party reports by the treaty bodies, the adoption of views and decisions on more than 100 individual communications, and seven country visits, conducted by the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. 15. OHCHR, at Headquarters and in the field, continued to provide technical assistance to support ratification and reporting of, and follow-up to, the recommendations made by treaty bodies. 2. Special procedures 16. Three new special procedures mandates were created in 2014 (now totalling 53 special procedures): Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic; Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; and Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights. The Human Rights Council appointed 31 mandate holders. Standing invitations to special procedures rose to 109, although, regrettably, they were not always honoured. 17. From January to October, special procedures mandate holders conducted 63 visits to 43 States. As at 31 October2014, special procedures had issued 20 urgent appeals, 206 joint urgent appeals, 39 allegation letters and 162 joint allegation letters. The average response rate for the period was around 45 per cent, slightly higher than the rate recorded in 2013 (42.9 per cent). 18. The thematic and country-specific expertise of mandate holders helped to draw attention to emerging issues such as the use of drones in extraterritorial lethal counterterrorism operations; mass digital surveillance for counter-terrorism purposes; the implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression; and the implementation of the right to social security through the universal adoption of social protection floors. 3. Human Rights Council 19. The Human Rights Council continued to address various urgent and chronic human rights situations. It established (or extended the mandate of, in the case of the Syrian Arab Republic) commissions of inquiry, and requested OHCHR to conduct investigations. OHCHR continued to support the work of the Council, and its subsidiary bodies, in all aspects. 20. At its twenty-sixth session, the Human Rights Council decided, in its resolution 26/24, to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged human rights violations in Eritrea. At its twenty-first special session, in its resolution S-21/1, the Council established a commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014, whether before, during or after. 21. The period under review witnessed a new trend whereby the Human Council requested OHCHR to conduct investigations and to establish field-based structures. In its resolution 25/1, the Council requested the High Commissioner to undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations of human rights by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. 22. In its resolution S-22/1, the Human Rights Council requested OHCHR urgently to dispatch a mission to Iraq to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and 5