A/HRC/28/63 Rapporteur repeatedly reiterated that ending impunity was an essential condition for ensuring the protection and safety of human rights defenders. 30. States should ensure the prompt and independent investigation of all violations against defenders and the prosecution of alleged perpetrators, regardless of their status. They should also ensure that victims of violations have access to just and effective remedies, namely judicial and administrative or quasi-judicial mechanisms, and appropriate compensation. Investigation and prosecution should be underpinned by an effective and independent judiciary. 31. Unfortunately, in many instances, weaknesses in the judicial system and flaws in the legal framework have deprived human rights defenders of adequate tools for seeking and obtaining justice. Strengthening the judiciary and making sure that it can operate independently and effectively should therefore be a priority for States. 32. States should also implement the interim measures of protection granted to defenders by international and regional human rights mechanisms. D. Cooperation with international, regional and national partners 33. The Special Rapporteur sets great store by cooperation with all United Nations bodies and other intergovernmental human rights organizations. This section contains an overview of the activities undertaken by the Special Rapporteur between 2 June 2014, when he took up his duties, and 13 November 2014. 34. The Special Rapporteur sent a series of appeals and communications to governments on the situation of human rights defenders, as mentioned above. 35. On 10 and 11 June 2014, the Special Rapporteur took part in a meeting in Bern organized by the Swiss presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for the launch of the OSCE guidelines on human rights defenders. On that occasion, he commended the initiative taken by OSCE to develop this guide for human rights defenders in the region. 36. On 13 June 2014, he held a series of consultations with human rights defenders present in Geneva during the twenty-sixth session of the Council and in Brussels, at a meeting organized by the European Union on the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. 37. The same day, he participated in a parallel event in Geneva entitled “From threats to opportunities: Business and human rights defenders”, organized by International Service for Human Rights and the Legal Resources Centre of South Africa. 38. On 17 June 2014, he took part in a meeting organized in Brussels by the Permanent Mission of Ireland on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and held consultations with representatives of the European Union. He took the opportunity to discuss regional consultations and the assessment of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders with representatives of the European Commission. 39. On 26 August 2014, he took part in a day-long meeting organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on human rights defenders, attended by all the French ambassadors, on the implementation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. 40. On 15 September 2014, he took part in a panel discussion on the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, held during the Council session. GE.14-25280 7