A/HRC/43/64 media team and they concluded that there was a need to have overall guidance and a strategy on social media use. C. Consultations with stakeholders 1. United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights 75. The Deputy High Commissioner addressed the challenges facing the human rights system as a whole and especially the human rights mechanisms. These challenges included reprisals against those cooperating with the United Nations on human rights, cuts to financial support from the regular budget, ad hominem attacks on independent experts and political processes that sought to control or make the special procedures system ineffective. She cautioned the mandate holders against giving space for such efforts and advised them to uphold the system. She also called for the system of special procedures to be open to improvements wherever possible to serve their stakeholders in the most effective and efficient manner. 2. President of the Human Rights Council 76. The President of the Human Rights Council referred to the challenges faced by the system that were due not only to the budgetary crisis but also to a general sense of backtracking on human rights globally. He stressed the valuable contribution of special procedures to the Council and the international human rights system as a whole. He stressed the importance for special procedures to maintain the highest standards expected of them as the best way to maintain trust in the system. He mentioned that mandate holders needed to submit their reports on time if they were to be properly understood, including by being appropriately translated. 77. Mandate holders said they wanted to make the general public more aware of their contributions to human rights. Indeed, they had noted that many international actors were not fully aware of the support that mandate holders could provide. As the President of the Council had pointed out, they too had observed a lack of synchronization between the various organs of the United Nations, in particular with the General Assembly. In addition, they reminded the President that, beyond their thematic work, they also had a role to play in the institutional development of the Council. 3. Exchange of views with Member States 78. The exchange of views with Member States was opened by the newly elected Chair of the Coordination Committee. In her introductory remarks, 9 the Chair spoke of the role and responsibilities of special procedures, highlighting a series of improvements and positive developments related to the system of special procedures, the challenges faced by the system and attempts to undermine it, and several decisions adopted by consensus during the annual meeting in relation to working methods and to a declaration adopted by mandate holders. She urged States to redouble their support for the independent mandates of the Human Rights Council. She stressed that special procedures constantly engaged in selfimprovement and welcomed feedback aimed at enhancing the protection of human rights. 79. The Chair informed States about the decision to update the Manual of Operations in order to address best practices related to social media, end-of-mission statements, media releases and other issues that had been brought to the attention of mandate holders. In the dialogue that followed, participants expressed their support for the work of special procedures and the importance of cooperating with them. Some States expressed concern regarding impartiality and stressed the need to adhere strictly to the Code of Conduct. Concomitantly, the need to use reliable and varied sources of information was emphasized. Several procedural issues were raised regarding, for example, the timing between communications and press releases, as well as the opportunity for States to provide a response. 9 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/SP/AMeetings/26thMeeting/26thAnnualMeeting _Chair_remarks21June2019.pdf. 15