A/HRC/19/74 have a sense of involvement in and ownership of the undertaking. International cooperation between different kinds of entities, such as international organizations and non-State actors, involves different types of partnerships and is based on a recognition of their respective areas of competence and responsibility. Cooperation should not detract from the neutrality and impartiality of institutional mechanisms or of procedures for consultation with independent experts. 36. Cooperation also entails participation in a process. It is true that international cooperation pays a role in emergencies, such as a humanitarian disaster or an influx of refugees. More often, however, it is a longer-term process in which the parties work together to implement a policy, an agreement, an action plan or a programme or, in any event, to take action within a general framework with well-defined stages, objectives, indicators and assessment criteria. In other words, cooperation is not an end in itself but a means to an end. It is a way of mobilizing joint efforts with the aim of achieving an objective. Transparency, accountability and periodic assessments, which are essential features of this ongoing process, serve the purpose of measuring the results. Other assessment methods include studies conducted by external bodies and periodic reports. 37. Lastly, the idea of cooperation conveys some sense of a ―shared ideal‖. It is not just a matter of relations of good neighbourliness, coexistence or reciprocity, but rather of a willingness to look beyond mutual interests in order to advance the general interest. To cooperate is not just to choose dialogue over confrontation; it is to act together in pursuit of a common goal. The idea of international cooperation presupposes the existence of an international community that transcends the relations between States. It is in this sphere that the importance of international cooperation in the field of human rights becomes fully apparent, in that cooperation becomes inseparable from the realization of the common ideal set out in the Charter of the United Nations of 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. In the absence of an embryonic international community, it is Member States that assume responsibility, jointly and severally, for guaranteeing the rights so solemnly proclaimed in these instruments. 38. It remains to be seen how these principles of legal argument, which are derived from the notion of international cooperation itself, carry over into positive law. Article 56 of the Charter calls on all Member States to pledge themselves ―to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization‖ for the achievement of the purposes set forth in the preceding Article, particularly those of ensuring ―universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion‖ (Art. 55 (c)). 39. Other specific obligations relating to other protagonists or other forms of international cooperation have been established within this general framework. Cases in point are the obligations assumed within other international organizations, particularly at the regional level, or through networks that are established after bilateral friendship or cooperation treaties are concluded. The strict definition of international cooperation and related legal obligations should not be allowed to obscure a broader vision of the notion of cooperation. As already indicated, cooperation cannot be reduced to a call for dialogue and coexistence or to the contrast between mutual understanding and confrontation. The establishment of dialogue can be a first step towards genuine cooperation, however. B. International cooperation in the field of human rights 40. This is the first area to look to for best practices for enhancing international cooperation, even if these practices do not necessarily encompass all the different elements of the ideal model just described and even if their focus is generally limited to the overall ―effectiveness‖ of the system in place. The idea is not just to promote but also to ensure the 12