A/HRC/8/9 page 4 A. Implementation of the recommendations of the Working Group on the Right to Development at its eighth session 6. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 4/4 of 30 March 2007, which endorsed the recommendations of the eighth session of the Working Group on the Right to Development, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights undertook preparations for the implementation of the recommendations. 7. The Working Group recommended that the task force adopt a gradual approach based on rigorous empirical analysis and constructive consolidation of its findings in a phased manner, identifying three phases of a work programme. In phase I, covering work in 2007, the task force was requested to deepen its study on the three development partnerships considered in its third session, and take up an additional partnership, namely the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU). In phase II, covering work in 2008, the task force is requested to study additional partnerships with a view to broaden its coverage of the regions implementing development partnerships, as well as its analysis of thematic issues of international cooperation identified under Millennium Development Goal 8 and as agreed by the Working Group at its ninth session. Finally, in phase III, covering work in 2009, the task force is requested to consolidate its findings and present a revised list of right-to-development criteria, along with corresponding operational sub-criteria and to outline suggestions for further work, including aspects of international cooperation not covered until then, for the consideration of the Working Group (see A/HRC/4/47, paras. 54 and 56). 8. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in furtherance of the implementation envisaged for phase I, provided organizational, research and analytical support to three technical missions conducted by the high-level task force to respective institutions involved in the implementation of the identified partnerships, namely the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)/Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in the context of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between ACP countries and the EU. The technical missions carried out in Paris, Brussels and Addis Ababa were aimed at establishing and continuing dialogue with respective partners providing an empirical basis for progressively developing and refining the right-to-development criteria. The respective partners included OECD-DAC, ECA, the ACP secretariat, the Directorates-General of Trade and Development of the European Commission and civil society representatives. In addition, OHCHR commissioned and oversaw the preparation of three expert studies on the various partnerships to provide substantive input into the fourth session of the task force. B. Fourth session of the high-level task force on the implementation of the right to development 9. The fourth session of the task force was held from 7 to 15 January 2008 in Geneva. The task force continued its tradition of encouraging a constructive dialogue amongst the various actors, including task force members, experts who prepared the commissioned studies,