A/HRC/16/66 and small States and encouraged the Office to document this process. It enquired about the strategy the Office had for participation of NGOs, including in the follow-up process, and noted the importance of all mechanisms of treaty bodies, special procedures and UPR, and the interaction of States with each of the processes. The Board thanked the Office for the update on UPR and noted its appreciation of the UPR website as a useful resource for its work. D. Human Rights Treaties 61. The Board was updated on the increase in ratification by States of treaties, which has resulted in an increase in the work of the related treaty bodies. It was informed of progress in reporting on UPR follow-up, an area in which States have shown keen interest and was updated on the establishment of new treaty bodies and inter-governmental working groups for possible adoption of new treaties and the evolution of work from purely traditional human rights work to new and challenging areas such as the rights of elderly persons, mercenaries and private security companies. The Board was updated on the workload of the Office in terms of supporting 74 weeks of treaty bodies' sessions and the consultative meetings that have been organized in Dublin, Marrakesh and Poznan by the treaty bodies to strengthen their working methods. The treaty bodies are also undertaking a review to harmonize their working methods and simplify their reporting process, and considering the inclusion of informal consultations and brainstorming sessions to include civil society and States. The treaty bodies are considering the question of ways in which the recommendations can be implemented at the country level and have held follow-up workshops to address this in an integrated and systematic approach. The Board was informed of the ongoing consideration of integrating recommendations for mechanisms such as UPR and special procedures to ensure a unified approach. 62. The Board members noted their appreciation of treaty bodies’ work as an independent mechanism and recommended strengthening the monitoring of implementation of the recommendations. With regard to members of treaty bodies, the Board recommended the adoption of guidelines and procedures to be developed by the High Commissioner to facilitate nomination by Member States. The Board also emphasized the need for treaty bodies to have greater contact with the field presences to maximize the impact of their work. OHCHR acknowledged that there was potential to institutionalize the linkages with the field through the existing field presences including informal information-sharing meetings to ensure coordinated approaches with other United Nations agencies and the UNCTs. 63. The acceptance of the UPR process was acknowledged and treaty bodies were faced with the challenge of becoming more robust and successful in their operations. The Board acknowledged the valuable normative work undertaken by the treaty bodies in strengthening the implementation of UPR recommendations. The Board emphasized the importance for treaty bodies to build on previous treaty body recommendations. E. Rule of Law and Democracy 64. The Board was updated on the work undertaken by the Rule of Law and Democracy Section in the technical cooperation activities in collaboration with other parts of OHCHR, by providing assistance in the development of norms and standards including the implementation of best practices in the field. The Board was informed of the work in combating impunity which was designed to initiate a programme to support national accountability in the field by focusing on different investigation mechanisms – 14