A/HRC/11/3 page 12 E. Compliance by member States with decisions of the Courts 45. Compliance by Council of Europe States with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights was reported to be excellent. The Committee of Ministers keeps the case file open until the judgement of the Court is implemented. However, while compliance with rulings on individual cases may be high, this does not always translate into institutional and legal reforms required to ensure that similar cases do not recur. 46. Membership of the Council of Europe is dependent upon the State agreeing to ratify the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the European Human Rights Convention”). The Convention is also incorporated into the domestic legislation of all member States, with the consequence that it is directly enforceable in the domestic courts. In the long-term this should ensure that the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention are increasingly protected at the national level with less need for recourse to the regional Court. However, training for domestic judges on the jurisprudence of the Court and the application of the Convention is essential. 47. Compliance with judgments of the Inter-American Court was noted to be less consistent, with some States requiring additional encouragement to implement the Court rulings. In some countries, the national judiciary incorporate the Court jurisprudence while others are more resistant. An ongoing dialogue is required to bridge this gap. III. RELATIONSHIP OF THE REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS WITH THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM 48. Regional mechanisms frequently refer to the international human rights standards in their overall analysis of the human rights conditions in their respective regions. In the Inter-American system, the Commission encourages member States to ratify both the regional human rights treaties and the United Nations treaties. 49. The reports of the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner are used in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process of the Human Rights Council and the Commissioner intends to assist in the implementation of recommendations made by the UPR Working Group to the member States of the Council of Europe by following up on the pledges those member States made during the Review process. The Commissioner considers the decisions of the United Nations treaty bodies and specialized agencies such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) when preparing legal opinions. FRA has established a network of liaison officers, which meets several times a year, to facilitate a working relationship with the United Nations bodies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Parliament and other agencies of the European Union and all member States. 50. From the perspective of the United Nations human rights system, the reports and findings of regional human rights bodies are likely to be consulted when Member States are undergoing examination by the treaty bodies or when cases have been referred to the 38 special procedures mandates of the Human Rights Council. The special procedure mandate holders will consider whether the Member State has been examined by a regional human rights body. Reference to the jurisprudence and other documentation of a regional human rights mechanism can strengthen the