A/HRC/7/28 page 2 Summary This report focuses on follow-up activities undertaken by the Special Representative and the role of stakeholders in implementing her recommendations and illustrates the Special Representative’s work in the three main areas of her activities, i.e. communications, country visits and thematic reports. In the area of communications, the Special Representative shows that following up on cases includes not only following up on individual situations reported in communications, but also looking at cases as a whole to identify general trends. The quantitative and thematic analysis of communications enables it to identify challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (General Assembly resolution 53/144, annex) and to formulate targeted recommendations to address specific implementation gaps. The Special Representative proposes some methodological tools that can be used to facilitate follow-up activities, in particular to assess the situation of human rights defenders on the ground. For instance, she outlines a schematic list of indicators aimed at assessing the situation of human rights defenders on the ground and a matrix to undertake follow-up visits. In her recommendations, the Special Representative emphasizes the role of stakeholders in following up on her activities. She recommends to States to respond in a timely, systematic and comprehensive manner to her communications. She also invites States to see the communications procedure as an opportunity not only to redress individual situations but also to correct structural gaps in the implementation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, of which the individual cases are just a symptom. The Special Representative recommends to develop and strengthen capacity-building activities on the Declaration and the mandate of the Special Representative as well as to strengthen the role of regional and international networks and organizations which often act as interfaces between the Special Representative and sources on the ground. These are two strategic measures that would increase the impact of her work. The Special Representative recommends that the situation of human rights defenders be one of the elements to review in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council. The Special Representative believes that the intensification of collaboration and joint initiatives among existing international and regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders reinforces the overall system for the protection of human rights defenders and its follow-up capacity.