A/HRC/14/33 76. Field presences have worked towards the enhancement of State party reporting and NGO shadow reporting in the area of economic, social and cultural rights. For example, OHCHR-Uganda and the Uganda Human Rights Commission co-organized a workshop addressed to ministries involved in treaty reporting, Uganda Human Rights Commissioners and NGOs on good practices in treaty reporting with the main focus on the still pending Ugandan initial report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In 2009, the Regional Office in Eastern Africa held workshops in Tanzania, Djibouti and Ethiopia with government institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders, which resulted in States parties submitting overdue reports in the area of economic, social and cultural rights. 77. Several field presences have also assisted special procedures focusing on economic, social and cultural rights in fulfilling their mandate. For example, in September 2009 OHCHR-Guatemala assisted the Special Rapporteur on the right to food in carrying out his follow-up mission to the country. In turn, OHCHR/UNAMA (Afghanistan) and the Human Rights Adviser in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia coordinated the UNCT’s responses to the Special Rapporteur on the right to food. OHCHR/UNAMA also produced an analysis of the measures taken by the Government to address the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing following his country mission. 78. At the request of national stakeholders, OHCHR conducted training workshops on the conceptual and methodological framework on indicators developed with the treaty bodies (outlined in HRI/MC/2008/3). Technical assistance on human rights indicators was provided by OHCHR in a number of countries, including in Ecuador, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico and Nepal. Following recommendations of the treaty bodies, OHCHR started the development of practical tools to facilitate the use of the adopted framework. OHCHR has encouraged further exchanges on country level experiences in using statistical and other structural, process and outcome indicators to foster the implementation and monitoring of economic, social and cultural rights. 79. OHCHR continued to provide organizational, substantive and analytical support to the Human Rights Council mechanism of the intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Development and its high-level task force on the implementation of the right to development, which has been engaged with global partnerships for development from the perspective of the right to development, through dialogue and other forms of collaboration. The task force has engaged in the area of development aid, jointly with several international and regional bodies, in issues including trade, access to essential medicines, debt relief and sustainability and transfer of technology. 80. OHCHR played an integral role in facilitating the 2009 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council. The Forum was attended by representatives of Member States, civil society organizations, major United Nations System Organizations and inter-governmental organizations. Recommendations were made on national anti-poverty programmes, implementation of social security programmes from a human rights perspective, negative impacts of economic and financial crisis on efforts to combat poverty and international assistance and cooperation in combating poverty. V. Conclusions 81. The year 2009 witnessed some important developments in the area of economic, social and cultural rights. The opening for signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the ensuing significant number of signatures show a positive trend in closing the historical protection gap affecting those rights. Likewise, OHCHR successfully lead 16 GE.10-12597