A/HRC/S-13/2 II. Organization of work of the thirteenth special session 1. Pursuant to paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, and in accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council as contained in the annex to Council resolution 5/1, the Council “shall hold special sessions, when needed, at the request of a member of the Council with the support of one third of the membership of the Council”. 2. In a note verbale dated 22 January 2010, addressed to the States Members of the Council, the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva requested the convening of a special session of the Council on 27 January 2010 to address the support of the Council for the recovery process in Haiti after the earthquake of 12 January 2010: a human rights approach. 3. The above-mentioned request was supported by 38 States Members of the Council: Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Gabon, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Uruguay. 4. In addition to the above-mentioned Member States, the request was also supported by the following observers of the Council: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bhutan, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Luxembourg, Morocco, Palestine, Panama, Portugal, Serbia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Viet Nam. 5. As more than one third of the membership of the Council supported the abovementioned request, the President of the Council convened informative consultations on the matter on 26 January 2010 and decided to convene a special session of the Council on 27 and 28 January 2010. A. Opening and duration of the session 6. The Council held its thirteenth special session at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 27 and 28 January 2010. It held three meetings during the session. 7. B. The thirteenth special session was opened by the President of the Council. Attendance 8. The special session was attended by representatives of States Members of the Council, observer States of the Council, observers for non-Member States of the United Nations and other observers, as well as observers for United Nations entities, specialized agencies and related organizations, intergovernmental organizations and other entities, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. 6 GE.10-13924