A/HRC/16/44 E. Cooperation with non-governmental organizations 15. The Special Rapporteur continued the fruitful cooperation of the mandate with civil society at the national, regional and international levels. The Special Rapporteur regrets that, due to time constraints, she was unable to participate in all the conferences and seminars to which she was invited. On occasions where the Special Rapporteur could not be present herself, she endeavoured, to the extent possible, to have an OHCHR staff member participate. 16. On 25 January 2010, the Special Rapporteur attended a public hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on the European Union’s support to human rights defenders. From 10 to 12 February, she attended the Fifth Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders. On 3 May, she attended the international workshop in Geneva on enhancing cooperation between regional and international mechanisms organized by the National Institutions Unit of OHCHR. From 6 to 10 September, the Special Rapporteur attended the Pacific Regional Consultation and Training for Human Rights Defenders in Suva, Fiji. From 25 to 26 November, she participated in the National Consultation of Women Human Rights Defenders in Nepal. From 2 to 4 December, the Special Rapporteur participated at the Forth Regional Human Rights Defenders Forum in the Philippines. III. A. Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues International legal framework 17. The rights of women to participate in public life, including through the promotion and protection of human rights, is contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as asserted in various international treaties, foremost among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 18. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and article 2 affirms that everyone, without distinction in terms of sex, is entitled to the rights set forth therein, which include, inter alia, the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and participation in Government. 19. Similarly, article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “the States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant”, which also guarantees and expands upon the aforementioned rights. Furthermore, article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides that the State Parties to the Covenant must “ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth” in the Covenant. 20. Article 7 (c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women requires that States Parties “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, […] ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right […] to participate in non-Governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country”. 5