A/HRC/4/43 page 12 through the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General and through him to the Security Council. A Security Council’s working group meets every two months to look at the reports from the Office of the Special Representative. The Working Group can suggest punitive action against non-complying parties to the Security Council. The need to ensure that due process be guaranteed in the context of the procedure was stressed. 50. The Special Representative invited mandate-holders to assist in the described monitoring and reporting process, especially during country visits, in terms both of information sharing and advocacy. 51. Mandate-holders welcomed the briefing by the Special Representative and plead for close cooperation with her. They stressed the importance of ensuring coordination and mutual assistance. In this context it was suggested that a mechanism be established to consistently alert the Special Representative’s Office when mandate-holders undertake visits to countries where there are listed parties. The desirability of looking at the monitoring mechanisms adopted by the Security Council, as a concept to be possibly replicated in other areas, was also flagged. 52. The special rapporteur on human rights defenders of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Reine Alpini Gansou, also addressed the meeting. In her presentation she stressed the importance of her close cooperation with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders. She referred to the fact that the African Commission has currently five rapporteurs: detention in prisons; freedom of expression; women’s rights; refugees and IDPs; and human rights defenders. Her mandate was tasked with seeking, receiving, examining and acting upon information on the situation of human rights defenders in Africa; submitting reports at every ordinary session of the African Commission; cooperating and engaging in dialogue with Member States, national human rights institutions, relevant intergovernmental bodies, international and regional mechanisms for protection of human rights defenders, human rights defenders and other stakeholders; developing and recommending effective strategies to better protect human rights defenders; raising awareness and promoting the implementation in Africa of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. 53. Mandate-holders warmly welcomed the presence of the special rapporteur of the African Commission and flagged the idea of establishing networks of regional mechanisms working on similar or related issues and strengthening cooperation and coordination with them. The possibility of considering the participation of such partners in future annual meetings, as well as of establishing institutional links to ensure joint activities were also mentioned. VII. COOPERATION WITH THE HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES 54. Under this agenda item, participants had an opportunity to meet with the Chairpersons of treaty bodies and to exchange views on the current reform system. 55. Representatives of both special procedures and treaty bodies expressed satisfaction about the existing level of mutual cooperation and coordination. Specific examples of cooperation with regard to exchange of information on specific countries, as well as concerning the