A/HRC/34/34 Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Members of the Security Council, States Members of the United Nations and civil society. 44. In April and December 2016, the Committee met in Geneva to discuss issues related to the special procedures system as a whole. At its meetings, the Committee focused in particular on questions relating to the functioning of the special procedures system and related issues, in particular conflicts of interest, the independence of the special procedures, communications, acts of intimidation and reprisal, ad hominem attacks against mandate holders, cooperation with Member States and the status and visibility of the special procedures system within the United Nations system. The Committee also discussed ways to strengthen its impact and visibility and to improve its interaction with the Human Rights Council, Member States and non-governmental organizations, and the outreach of the special procedures system towards counterparts in Geneva. 45. In November 2016, the Committee met in New York to strengthen its outreach to United Nations counterparts and to address issues relating to follow-up, early warning, human rights mainstreaming and the role of special procedures, with a focus on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Human Rights Up Front initiative. During the meetings, various ways to deepen cooperation and engagement with special procedures in New York and to ensure that their contributions, including recommendations, were more systematically integrated into the work of the United Nations were explored. 46. The Committee addressed cases of ad hominem attacks against mandate holders and of persistent non-cooperation by States by raising the issue consistently with the President of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner and representatives of States. It also followed up on the Human Rights Up Front initiative by engaging with relevant United Nations representatives. In addition, it engaged with the Consultative Group to ensure that the voice of special procedures is heard in the selection process of mandate holders. 47. The Committee also worked on the coordination of joint activities and statements on country-specific and thematic issues, mainstreaming human rights, and acts of intimidation and reprisal. In addition, it continued to provide guidance on issues relating to the independence of special procedures, conflicts of interest, the Code of Conduct and working methods, in accordance with the internal advisory procedure. The Committee further initiated a reflection on the communications procedure. 48. In accordance with established practice, the Committee participated in the twentyfifth and twenty-sixth special sessions of the Human Rights Council, on the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent situation in Aleppo, and the situation of human rights in South Sudan. The Committee also participated in various meetings relating to the efficiency and working methods of the Council. 49. The Chairperson of the Committee presented, for the second time, the annual report of special procedures to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/31/19), which included facts and figures on special procedures and information on the achievements of the system. It also illustrated that special procedures increasingly worked as a system alongside their work as individual mandate holders. 50. The Committee also took action on and implemented the modalities for disclosure of external support received through and outside of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). A table containing such information was, for the first time, included in the annual report. In this context, the Committee requested mandate holders once again to provide information on external support received, this time covering 2016. Of the 44 mandate holders who responded, 23 indicated that they had received external support, while 21 had not received any external support. Of those replying in the positive, support consisted of in-kind support, such as research assistance and the use 9