A/HRC/31/74 action/early warning and individual complaints procedures asked his view on the main obstacles to the effective implementation of the ICERD. Regarding concluding observations and recommendations of ICERD, she asked what could be done in terms of further supporting the implementation of observations and recommendations and whether OHCHR provides capacity building for States in terms of reporting obligations. 78. The representative of Brazil mentioned that some procedures, for example, visits were not foreseen in the ICERD and asked whether in his view an additional protocol would help to cover this procedural gap. 79. Mr. Walker explained that the adoption of resolution 68/268, strengthened the capacity of OHCHR to assist follow up and reporting and resulted in ten staff members at P3 level posted in all OHCHR regional offices, with the exception of Brussels and the regional office in Qatar. The capacity-building staff are supported by a small section in Geneva, through for example, developing training materials, organising regional workshops, assisting in the development of work plans, etc. He noted that it will be interesting to see if these efforts will result in increasing the number of reports as some countries are very late, while some countries have never reported. When lack of reporting is due to technical problems the capacity building programme could help to improve the situation, as this presented the most serious challenge. In response to the question about possible duplication with the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, he mentioned that the Office does its best so that there is cross-fertilization in order to avoid duplication as much as possible. 80. The representative of Belgium highlighted that reporting and constructive dialogues are essential for the effective implementation of the ICERD. He noted that there is essentially universal ratification to the ICERD, but a very uneven reporting profile. It was almost always the same States parties reporting and some States are very late or have not reported yet, which is a weak point which can be identified as a gap in the machinery. He asked about the main obstacles to State party reporting, and about what relevant assistance could be made available to States to improve reporting. 81. The Chair-Rapporteur inquired about the effectiveness of the committees given the non-binding nature of the general recommendations and the uneven level of implementation of the treaty body recommendations, and the limited resources available. He asked about how far treaty bodies could be streamlined while ensuring that all human rights are protected. He also asked about whether there was information concerning the satisfaction of victims with the treaty bodies and whether other avenues were known to them. He mentioned that it was essential to have information about how far countries responded to the recommendations made by the various committees, in order to see how far existing mechanisms existing are effective, particularly for the victims. In terms of victims and complaints, he inquired if it could be answered intelligently the percentage of satisfaction of the victims with regards to complaints. Additionally, he asked that if the gap was as large as it appeared, what could be done to improve these mechanisms. 82. Mr. Walker mentioned that in terms of the satisfaction of victims, the fact that an alleged victim has recourse to lodge a complaint to an international body could bring satisfaction in itself, and has symbolic value. He noted that the fact that the process brings together States and civil society, facilitating a network of dialogue at the national level. He noted that an overall assessment would require a review of all follow up reports of the Committee. Thus far, OHCHR resources have been focused on supporting State reporting and individual communications leaving little time and resources for undertaking analysis. 83. The representative of Tunisia asked for clarification with regards to the simplified reporting procedure in terms of the conditions for appeal. Tunisia noted that it is working with OHCHR on a professional national mechanism that will focus on the preparation of 35