A/HRC/S-10/2 page 7 II. Organization of work of the tenth 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 letter dated 16 February 2009, addressed to the President of the Council (A/HRC/S-10/1), the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as coordinator of the Group of African States, and the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations Office at Geneva requested the convening of a special session of the Council on 20 February 2009 to address the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights. 3. The request was supported by the following 27 States Members of the Council: Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa and Uruguay. 4. In addition to the above-mentioned States Members of the Council, the request was also supported by the following observer States of the Council: Algeria, Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Nepal, the Niger, Panama, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Yemen. 5. As more than one third of the membership of the Council supported the above-mentioned request, the President of the Council convened informative consultations on the matter on 16 February 2009 and decided to convene a special session of the Council on 20 February 2009. A. Opening and duration of the session 6. The Council held its tenth special session at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 20 and 23 February 2009. It held three meetings during the session. 7. The tenth special session was opened by the President of the Council. B. 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. C. Officers 9. At its second organizational meeting of the third cycle, on 19 June 2008, the Council elected the following officers, who also served as officers for the tenth special session: