A/HRC/4/91 page 14 mandate of JOIN was adopted during a meeting of the European Coordinating Committee of the European Group of NHRIs (Copenhagen, 2 February 2006), with the NHRIs of Europe, OHCHR and the Council of Europe as partners. 57. JOIN is available for NHRIs, Governments and civil society within the regional scope of the Council of Europe. The three main elements of this initiative are: (i) to support the establishment of NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles; (ii) to strengthen existing NHRIs; and (iii) to protect NHRIs under threat, through early warning mechanisms. The first initiative under JOIN was a mission undertaken to Italy from 3 to 6 December 2006 (see paragraph 62). Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 58. The Supplementary OSCE Human Dimension Meeting entitled “Human rights defenders and national human rights institutions: legislative, State and non-State aspects” was held on 30 and 31 March 2006 in Vienna. One of the outcomes of this meeting was the recommendation to establish a focal point in ODIHR to liaise with NHRIs. The Council of Europe, ODIHR and OHCHR organized a joint meeting to discuss the establishment of the ODIHR focal point (Warsaw, 5 September 2006). Workshops, training courses and advisory missions 59. On 11 January 2006, a written assessment of draft legislation on the establishment of a human rights commission in Scotland was provided to the Parliamentary Committee dealing with the matter. It is anticipated that an NHRI will be established in Scotland. 60. At the request of the Head of the Human Rights component of the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (UNTOP), an OHCHR delegation undertook a mission to Tajikistan from 21 to 23 February 2006 to support and participate in a seminar on the prospects for establishing an NHRI in Tajikistan. Throughout the visit the Representative of the Secretary-General strongly supported the delegation and the objective of the seminar. 61. From 16 to 19 May 2006, the NI Unit undertook a mission to Kosovo to advise on legislation concerning an Ombudsman and to support the development of an open and transparent appointment process for the Ombudsman in Kosovo. The NI Unit, working with the OHCHR Kosovo office, also provided legislative advice on a constitutional provision on the establishment of the mandate of the Ombudsman. 62. On 5 December 2006, the NI Unit and the Italian NGO Network Comitato per la Promozione e Protezione dei Diritti Umani organized a workshop in Rome on the establishment of an NHRI in Italy in accordance with the Paris Principles. The workshop, supported by the NHRIs of France and Ireland, permitted parliamentarians, government officials and civil society to discuss the different types of NHRIs, core functions, independence, best practices, as well as specific draft bills for the establishment of an NHRI in Italy. Bilateral discussions were also held with parliamentarians, Government and civil society prior to and after the workshop.

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