A/HRC/4/37 page 6 D. Cooperation with non-governmental organizations 6. The Special Representative has continued her interaction with civil society at the international, national and local levels. The Special Representative regrets that due to time constraints she was not able to participate in all conferences and seminars to which she was invited. On occasions where the Special Representative could not be present she tried, as far as possible, to have one of her staff represent her. These occasions have marked the progress in the building and strengthening of defenders’ networks and in developing better understanding of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights (hereafter “the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders”) for its effective implementation and a better protection of all human rights defenders. 7. During the reporting year, the Special Representative participated in numerous events organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the World Social Forum in Karachi, Pakistan, the Carter Center Conference in Atlanta, United States of America, the World Forum of Human Rights in Nantes, France, the First International Conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights in Montreal, Canada, and the 2nd Human Rights Defenders’ Forum in Asia, held in Bangkok. E. Non-governmental organizations’ participation in the work of the Human Rights Council 8. In relation to the participation of NGOs in the work of the Human Rights Council, the Special Representative would like to remind States about the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and, in particular, of article 1, which provides that “(e)veryone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and article 5, which provides that “(f)or the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (a) to meet or assemble peacefully: (b) to form, join and participate in NGOs, associations or groups; (c) to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations”. 9. Most NGOs have relayed to the Special Representative their appreciation of the work of the NGO liaison office at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and many have welcomed the practise of “interactive dialogues” with the special procedures after the presentation of their reports to the Human Rights Council. Nevertheless many NGOs have found that their ability to contribute to the deliberations of the Council are affected by a lack of predictability in time and modalities of the debates in the sessions of the Council (such as agenda items, time frames of debates, speaking time for delegates, etc.). They believe that, in the absence of a more suitable distribution of items on the agenda, the benefits of the multiple sessions of the Council could be lost, if NGOs are unable to travel more frequently to Geneva because of financial or other constraints. It is also crucial to retain the opportunity for interaction between non-governmental actors, including human rights defenders, provided by the gathering at the sessions of the former Commission on Human Rights. This issue is of particular concern for NGOs from the South and for several other NGOs that do not have a Geneva office.