A/HRC/7/38 page 17 73. In August 2007, OHCHR took over the Universal Human Rights Index project, which compiles observations and recommendations of United Nations human rights treaty bodies and rapporteurs, that had been developed by the Government of Switzerland. Presentations of the Index have been held for treaty bodies and staff of the Office, and information sessions on its utilization in the framework of the universal periodic review were also organized in Geneva for French-speaking permanent missions in November and December 2007 by the Treaties and Council Branch jointly with the Organisation internationale de la francophonie. A CD-Rom providing the information contained on the website is being finalized and will be distributed soon to Governments, non-governmental organizations, field presences, United Nations entities and others, together with a promotional booklet published in the six official languages of the United Nations. 74. As is well known, the momentum for reform has accelerated since the Secretary-General’s 2002 proposals, by which he urged the adoption of harmonized working methods to create a predictable system for States and other stakeholders, and the introduction of streamlined reporting requirements, possibly via a single report on implementation of all obligations a State had accepted which would be submitted to all treaty bodies. The need to streamline and strengthen the treaty body system, including through the implementation of harmonized guidelines on reporting to all treaty bodies so that they could operate as a unified system was re-emphasized by the Secretary-General in his 2005 report “In Larger Freedom” (A/59/2005). In my Plan of Action, released in May 2005, I described the human rights treaty system as one of the great achievements of the United Nations, but predicted that its inefficiencies would worsen, particularly as progress towards universal ratification and timely reporting continues to be made. 75. In February 2006, I put forward my concept paper, including the proposal for a unified standing treaty body (HRI/MC/2006/2). The concept paper has stimulated debate among States parties, treaty body members, United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations, academics and others, including at the brainstorming meeting held in July 2006 in Liechtenstein (Malbun II). A compilation of views on the proposal formulated since the release of the concept paper is kept updated by OHCHR, while the 2007 special issue of the Human Rights Law Review on reform of the United Nations human rights machinery includes four articles which directly address the proposal and the concept paper. 76. All opinions on my proposal acknowledge the challenges facing the treaty body system, and a number cite the concept paper as providing an accurate account of these. Several welcome the concept paper as an important contribution to thinking about ways to strengthen the effectiveness of the treaty monitoring system and deserving of full analysis and consideration. Most suggest that the proposal does not respond to the challenges to the system and raises legal and political problems that cannot be solved in the short or medium term. Many raise concerns that the establishment of a unified standing treaty body could lead to a lack of attention to specific rights or the rights of specific groups. Some express concern at the risk that implementation of the proposal might lead to the loss of the specific identity of individual committees. 77. In response to the proposal, other reform options have been put forward by the treaty bodies, and a working group on harmonization composed of treaty body representatives met twice to discuss these proposals as well as the elements of the concept paper relating to