A/HRC/12/47 page 13 51. Mandate holders emphasized the crucial role of civil society and NHRIs in the work of the special procedures, in particular during country visits. National institutions and civil society in the field were in a good position to support follow-up and implementation of the recommendations. Mandate holders discussed the suggestion that civil society and special procedures should interact more with the UPR process. On the relationship of special procedures with the Council, mandate holders highlighted the need to strengthen support for the independence and effectiveness of the Council; they noted positive experiences and added that the President of the Council had welcomed their involvement in special sessions. Participants also encouraged NHRIs and NGOs to broaden their scope of support to the mechanisms. B. United Nations bodies and regional organizations 52. Marta Santos Pais, the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, presented her priorities in an exchange of views with mandate holders, highlighting the framework provided by the recommendations of the United Nations Study on Violence against Children and emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming the agenda at the national level, achieving change in legislation to ban all forms of violence against children, and promoting data collection and analysis in every country. She stressed the need for close collaboration with stakeholders, consolidating partnerships with United Nations organizations and with human rights bodies and mechanisms. She emphasized in particular collaboration with special procedures, anticipating the promotion of synergies across mandates, the sharing of information, the identification of good practices, and the cross-fertilization of experiences to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children. 53. Participants expressed their intention to work in close collaboration with her office and noted that as a cross-cutting issue, violence against children would be addressed by various mandates, requiring close cooperation. 54. The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, briefed participants on the inclusive and comprehensive approach of his mandate. He noted that sovereignty and the responsibility to protect were responsibilities primarily of States; in case of failure of the State to protect, intervention might be required from the international community. The mandate also constituted an early warning mechanism as the Special Adviser made recommendations to the Secretary-General and, through him, to the Security Council. Denial by perpetrators and those who had the responsibility to protect was one of the main challenges. 55. The Special Adviser was developing a framework for analysis as a basis for gathering information while giving Governments an opportunity for self-examination. That framework would help identify best practices. Mr. Deng expressed his desire to work closely with special procedures and to invite them to participate in consultations and training organized by his office. He noted that there was a need for more sustainable and systematic cooperation, synergizing with special procedures. 56. Mandate holders expressed their readiness to cooperate with the Special Adviser. Participants were interested in indicators that would determine the need for a measure beyond monitoring. They also discussed the role of the State as a determining factor in the propagation of violence which affected the most vulnerable, and noted that a common phenomenon of genocides was the absence of the rule of law resulting in the aggravation of disparities.