A/HRC/7/6 page 6 15. On 26 November, I participated in the international campaign held in Istanbul to stop killing and stoning women. On 6 and 7 December, I spoke at a Council of Europe conference in Strasbourg on support services for victims of domestic violence. Later that month, for the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, I gave a keynote speech on women’s human rights at the American University in Cairo. E. Group of Experts on Darfur 16. From April to December 2007 I participated in the Group of Experts on Darfur, established by Human Rights Council resolution 4/8 to ensure the effective follow-up and foster the implementation of resolutions and recommendations on Darfur, as adopted by the Council, the Commission on Human Rights and other United Nations human rights mechanisms. The Group met regularly with the Government of the Sudan and submitted its final report to the Council at its sixth session (A/HRC/6/19). F. Communications and press releases 17. During the reporting period, I sent 59 communications bringing alleged human rights violations to the attention of Governments and received 33 Government replies to communications. An analysis of these communications, including trends, can be found in addendum 1. 18. In 2007, I issued, jointly with other Special Rapporteurs, press releases on various occasions, including on International Women’s Day on 8 March; on 5 April, on the concern at the arrest of five human rights defenders in Tehran, who had been collecting signatures for a campaign to amend discriminatory laws on women; on 1 May, on renewed hostilities between Ethiopian and Somali forces and insurgent groups in Mogadishu, resulting in death and injuries; on the International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November; and on Human Rights Day on 10 December. III. INDICATORS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 19. Addressing violence against women has been a viable entry point to advance women’s human rights as it has mobilized women worldwide, progressively transformed mainstream human rights paradigm and practice, guided United Nations work and the process around the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and slowly but surely shaped the agenda of States. 20. Building on gains made at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women3 provides the first official definition of the problem and calls upon States to exercise due diligence to prevent violence against women, protect women from violence, prosecute perpetrators and provide compensation to victims. In addition, Governments are asked to promote research, collect data and compile statistics concerning violence against women and encourage research on its causes and consequences. 3 General Assembly resolution 48/104.