A/HRC/18/41 increase in the number of standing invitations by States was welcomed by special procedures; however, concern was expressed that some States that had issued an invitation had not permitted visits by mandate holders. Mandate holders and States both emphasized the importance of dialogue and meeting with each other to discuss cooperation and followup on the basis of mutual respect. C. Exchange of views with United Nations entities and field presences of the Office of the High Commissioner 37. Mandate holders exchanged views with representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the World Health Organization. Participants welcomed the work of United Nations entities in support of their activities, in particular with regard to visits. Several good practices of engagement and partnerships were underlined, and it was noted that United Nations entities helped to identify priority issues, provide information regarding the national context, organize meetings with stakeholders, recommend areas to visit during country missions and support implementation of recommendations of mandate holders by enhancing their incorporation into policies, programmes and strategies at the national level by means of sustained and coordinated advocacy and technical cooperation with States. The benefit of United Nations statistics, tools and guidelines to mandate holders was underlined. 38. Participants highlighted the ways in which the work of mandate holders could support that of United Nations entities. For example, mandate holders could alert the international community to issues that might be ignored, encourage States to act on recommendations of United Nations country teams, and provide international expert advice to actors at the regional, national and local levels, including through facilitating the participation of mandate holders in national events and by highlighting good practices from other countries. 39. Good practices of cooperation between United Nations entities and mandate holders were identified, such as joint ratification campaigns, issuing of joint press releases on critical situations, and individual and systemic collaboration in relation to protection concerns. The importance of providing members of United Nations entities and country teams with additional, structured awareness-raising and training on how to apply a human rights-based approach was noted. 40. The OHCHR Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division and representatives of field presences from Ecuador and the Russian Federation also provided input on the role, responsibilities and scope for action of different types of field presences, adding that the recommendations of special procedures often informed their strategies. 41. Participants discussed specific examples of collaboration with special procedures in all regions, and the importance of ensuring that cooperation was part of a cycle of engagement aimed at the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground. Regular consultations with mandate holders where views on priority countries and issues could be exchanged were considered valuable, as were the mutual support and joint action on issues of common concerns. OHCHR could encourage greater cooperation by States and advocate for acceptance of country visit requests. It could also facilitate joint action with regional bodies and mechanisms. In addition, special procedures had a role in the development of national human rights action plans and their implementation. 42. Mandate holders expressed their appreciation for the support provided by OHCHR at Headquarters and in the field. They emphasized the need to enhance information-sharing and priority-setting, and decided to continue to discuss ways of maximizing collaboration for greater impact, particular in the light of resource constraints. 12