A/HRC/S-12/1 page 7 II. Organization of work of the twelfth special session 1. Pursuant to paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, and in accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council as contained in the annex to Council resolution 5/1, the Council shall hold special sessions, when needed, at the request of a member of the Council with the support of one third of the membership of the Council. 2. On 13 October 2009, the secretariat of the Council received a request for the convening of a special session of the Council on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. 3. The above-mentioned request was supported by the following 19 States Members of the Council: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and South Africa. 4. The request was also supported by the following observer States of the Council: Algeria, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kuwait, Lebanon, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam and Yemen. 5. As more than one third of the membership of the Council supported the above-mentioned request, the Council convened informative consultations on the matter on 14 October 2009 and decided to convene a special session of the Council on 15 October 2009. A. Opening and duration of the session 6. The Council held its twelfth special session at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 15 and 16 October 2009. It held two meetings during the session. 7. The twelfth special session was opened by the President of the Council. B. Attendance 8. The special session was attended by representatives of States Members of the Council, observer States of the Council, observers for non-Member States of the United Nations and other observers, as well as observers for United Nations entities, specialized agencies and related organizations, intergovernmental organizations and other entities, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. C. Officers 9. At its first organizational meeting of the fourth cycle, on 19 June 2009, the Council elected the following officers, who also served as officers for the twelfth special session: President: Alex Van Meeuwen (Belgium)