A/HRC/7/18 page 4 the Special Rapporteur held consultations in Bangkok with, inter alia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, representatives of the diplomatic community and non-governmental organizations operating in Myanmar, Thailand and on the Thai-Myanmar border. 8. Pursuant to Council resolution 6/33, in his letter of 30 January 2008, the Special Rapporteur communicated to the Government his wish to conduct a follow-up mission prior to the seventh session of the Council in March. The Special Rapporteur regrets that he has not been granted access to the country for a follow-up mission as requested by the Council. 9. The Special Rapporteur would like to express his gratitude to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in particular to its Regional Office for South-East Asia for the support provided in the implementation of his mandate. He would like also to praise the collaboration with United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, Charles Petrie, and the entire United Nations country team in Myanmar. III. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 10. Changes are taking place in the country as a result of political and economic developments, including the future adoption of a new constitution that will redefine the political structures of the country as well as a number of ongoing development projects. Whether these changes will be positive depends on the ease of the political transition and the involvement of the international community. Lack of access to conflict areas by United Nations human rights mechanisms and other relevant international agencies exacerbates an already difficult human rights situation. 11. The establishment by the Secretary-General of a Group of Friends of Myanmar, whose first informal format meeting was held on 19 December 2007, is an important effort by the international community to continue calling for immediate action to improve the human rights situation of the people of Myanmar. 12. The Special Rapporteur has observed with satisfaction that the United Nations system has established mechanisms to facilitate communication among the political, humanitarian and human rights sectors to address the situation in Myanmar. In this context, the Special Rapporteur supports the good offices of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Myanmar and welcomes the announcement on 21 February of his forthcoming visit scheduled for early March 2008. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of Myanmar and all relevant parties to the national reconciliation process to continue to cooperate with the Special Adviser in the discharge of his good offices. A. National convention and way forward 13. The reform process proposed in the 7-step road map for national reconciliation and democratic transition, after some initial signs of openness and inclusiveness, has been further limited and delineated. In addition, the delays and the obstacles preventing the participation of all sectors observed in the past few years have held back the pace of the reforms required for democratization. The Special Rapporteur notes that the process is already 14 years old and is open-ended.