A/HRC/12/47 page 2 REPORT OF THE SIXTEENTH MEETING OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS/ REPRESENTATIVES, INDEPENDENT EXPERTS AND CHAIRPERSONS OF WORKING GROUPS OF THE SPECIAL PROCEDURES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (Geneva, 29 June-3 July 2009) Rapporteur: Najat M’jid Maalla Summary The sixteenth annual meeting of special procedures was held in Geneva from 29 June to 3 July 2009. A list of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and mandate holders attending the sixteenth annual meeting appears in the annex. Participants elected Santiago Corcuera Chairperson of the sixteenth annual meeting and of the Coordination Committee. Najat M’jid Maalla was elected Rapporteur of the meeting and a member of the Committee. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Frank William La Rue Lewy and Manfred Nowak were also elected members of the Committee and it was decided that the former Chair, Asma Jahangir, would be an ex officio member during the next year. Mandate holders held exchanges of views with the High Commissioner, the President of the Council and members of the Bureau, and with the former Council President. Participants held a joint meeting with participants attending the twenty-first meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies, and had exchanges of views with the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children and the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. They met with representatives of non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions. Participants focused their discussions on the independence and effectiveness of the special procedures and on harmonization of the working methods of mandate holders. They also discussed their linkages with the universal periodic review mechanism and thematic issues including protection of victims and witnesses, and climate change. They welcomed the appointment of six new mandate holders and paid tribute to outgoing mandate holders.