A/HRC/11/3 page 5 response to certain events that raise human rights concerns. The reports of such special missions are published on the Commissioner’s website. Field offices representing the Commissioner may be established on an exceptional basis, as in Chechnya. The office of the Human Rights Commissioner is expected also to have the authority to submit written comments and take part in hearings of the European Court. 9. Generally, regional commissions and similar mechanisms will only address issues relating to member States of the regional organization. In the case of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the Agency is permitted to deal with countries that have a third-party relationship with the European Union, such as Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is also able to consider human rights implementation in countries which have a stabilization agreement with the European Union, such as States of the former Yugoslavia. FRA focuses on scientific data collection (see below) and can provide any body of European Union with a legal opinion on proposed legislation by any member State. B. Emerging mechanisms 10. In the case of emerging mechanisms, it was suggested that any new human rights mechanism should have a broad mandate to promote and protect human rights. The importance of adopting a human rights charter that reflects international human rights standards was stressed by workshop participants. Further, existing organs within the organization that have a mandate concerning human rights protection should be subsumed within the mandate of the human rights commission, so as to ensure consistency. The commission or other body established under the charter should have power to mainstream human rights through all other organs of the organization. Concern was expressed that the charters of some emerging mechanisms may not meet international standards and that they should be drafted in such a way as to allow an evolutionary approach to the protection of human rights within the organization, as its capacity and jurisprudence develop. Both representatives of the Association of South East Asian States (ASEAN) Secretariat and the League of Arab States (LAS) Human Rights Department noted that they expected that their respective mechanisms would be further strengthened in the future. Transparency in the establishment process was noted as vital to the subsequent credibility of the human rights mechanism. C. Independence 11. The speakers stressed the importance of ensuring that the commissioner(s) is independent of his or her own State and of other organs within the regional organization. There are several safeguards that can help achieve this goal. The method of the selection of the commissioner(s) is critical, as is the limit on the number of terms that commissioners may serve. The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council and has a non-renewable mandate of six years. The seven Commissioners of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are elected by the General Assembly of the OAS for a four-year term and may be re-elected only once. Candidates are publicly announced in advance, to allow civil society an opportunity to comment on their suitability for the post. During the life of the Inter-American Commission, some Commissioners have stood down when they were appointed