A/HRC/15/25 60. During their seventh session in New York in July 2009, the Working Group held two events organized by the International Peace Institute (IPI). The first was a lunchtime policy forum to explore current efforts inside and outside the United Nations to develop a more effective system of international regulation, oversight and accountability. Speakers included Peter Maurer, Ambassador of Switzerland, James Cockayne, International Peace Institute (IPI) Senior Associate and Shaista Shameem, as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group. The event attracted over 50 participants from embassies, the United Nations and from civil society. 61. The second event was a four-hour closed-door workshop with experts and civil society representatives, primarily based in the United States, to discuss the content and scope of a possible legal instrument for the regulation of PMSCs. The event gathered over 20 participants and provided an initial opportunity for the Working Group to discuss, in particular, the question of inherently State functions that should not be outsourced to PMSCs and the system of implementation and enforcement provided for in the draft convention. 62. This meeting was extremely useful to the Working Group to have an initial discussion with experts on the scope, content and oversight mechanism provided for in the convention. This greatly assisted the Working Group in addressing some of the key elements of the draft as well as some potential gaps. The Working Group takes this opportunity to thank the IPI for organizing and hosting these two important events. 63. On 25 July 2009, at a meeting held by the Colombian Academic Network on Privatization of Security, Ms. Benavides de Pérez led a panel of experts discussion of the proposed draft convention in Bogotá, Colombia. A similar meeting was held in Quito, Ecuador, which gathered 25 representatives of NGOs and of the academic sector on 26 August 2009. The conclusions and recommendations of both meetings were sent to the Working Group. The Working Group expresses its gratitude to the OHCHR Office in Colombia and Ecuador for hosting these two meetings. 64. Through one of its members, José L. Gómez del Prado, the Working Group also collaborated with a network of Spanish academics from 15 Spanish Universities, the Spanish Red Cross Centre for the Study of International Humanitarian Law, the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action and NGOs regarding the elaboration of the draft convention. In this regard, a closed-door seminar organized by the Law Faculty of the Universidad Española de Educación a Distancia (UNED-the Spanish Open University) took place in Madrid, on 19–20 November 2010. During the seminar a number of constructive and practical recommendations were made which have contributed to improving the draft text. Association, Washington; James Cockayne, International Peace Institute (IPI); Svyatoslav Shchegolev, MGIMO, Moscow State University of International Relations; Paul Robinson, University of Ottawa; Yuri S. Apukhtin, ZAO Neva Line, St. Petersburg; Gleb I. Bogush, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Vyacheslav V. Gavrilov, Law Institute, Far Eastern National University, Russia; Karen A. Gevorkyan, Yerevan State University, Armenia; Svetlana V. Glotova, Lomonosov Moscow State University and Natalya A. Zivadze, Institute for State and Law, Russian Academy of Science (RAS); Academy of Management TISBI, Kazan, Russia; Oumed Mansourov, Russian-Tajik Slavonic University, Dushanbe; Alexander B. Mezyaev, Academy of Management TISBI Kazan; Inna A. Orlova, State Marine Technical University of St. Petersburg; Zhyldyz Ch. Tegizbekova, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University, Bishkek; Yuzejir Yu. Mammadov, Kazan State University, Russia; Drs. Carmen Quesada Alcalá (UNED) and Ruth Abril Stoffels (CEU-UCH) Spain; Dr. Adela Rey Aneiros (Chair Jean Monnet Faculty of Law, University of La Coruña) Spain; Dr. Cesárero Gutiérrez Espada and María José Cervell Hortal (Universidad de Murcia) Spain. 14 GE.10-15155