A/HRC/16/9 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its ninth session from 1 to 12 November 2010. The review of Bulgaria was held at the 7th meeting, on 4 November 2010. The delegation of Bulgaria was headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nickolay Mladenov. At its 11th meeting, held on 8 November 2010, the Working Group adopted the report on Bulgaria. 2. On 21 June 2010, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Bulgaria: Bangladesh, Mauritania and Poland. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1, the following documents were issued for the review of Bulgaria: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/9/BGR/1) and (A/HRC/WG.6/9/BGR/1/Corr.1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/9/BGR/2) and (A/HRC/WG.6/9/BGR/2/Corr.1and 2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/9/BGR/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Bulgaria through the troika. Those questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process 5. During the interactive dialogue, 45 delegations made statements. A number of delegations thanked Bulgaria for its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism and commended the delegation for the constructive dialogue initiated with civil society during the preparation of its national report, and for the comprehensiveness of its national report as well as its presentation. They also welcomed the detailed replies given to advance questions and other comments made during the interactive dialogue. Recommendations made during the dialogue are found in section II of the present report. A. Presentation by the State under review 6. The head of the delegation, Mr. Mladenov, stated that Bulgaria was a party to the core international human rights treaties and had voluntarily agreed to the most far-reaching scrutiny of its human rights records, including binding court judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, with regard to individual complaints. The Minister also stated that Bulgaria was bound by the high standards and aspirations enshrined in the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. 7. The Minister acknowledged the valuable contributions made by civil society and non-governmental organizations throughout the transparent process of consultation in the preparation of its national report. He remained fully committed to continuing both the broad inter-ministerial and public dialogue with stakeholders, so as to ensure the necessary followup to the universal periodic review process. 3