A/HRC/8/52 page 147 six months ago. He explained that during the interactive dialogue of the universal periodic review of India, which was held on 10 April 2008, the Indian delegation, at that time, had been constituted in keeping with the importance of the occasion as well as the broad range of issues that were likely to come up given the diversity and size of India. The delegation included the Solicitor General of India and representatives from a number of relevant ministries and departments. He stated that the interactive dialogue was very rich and productive and witnessed the participation of a large number of States members and observers of the Council. India had tremendously benefited from that process by learning how its efforts for the realization of human rights for its people were viewed and assessed by the international community. It was indeed a matter of great satisfaction that there was a clear and positive recognition of India’s efforts and that many of the initiatives it had launched were viewed as example of best practices. 397. He stated that a number of recommendations were made by delegations during the interactive dialogue, which were recorded in the report of the Working Group. India had carefully examined these recommendations in consultation with the concerned ministries and departments. It also examined them with an open mind to constructively assess how their acceptance and implementation could contribute positively to India’s efforts to secure human rights for its people. The Head of Delegation referred to the written response of India (A/HRC/8/26/Add.1), which indicates India’s position on these recommendations, while accepting a majority of them. 398. The Head of Delegation stated that while the universal periodic review was primarily an intergovernmental process, it had been designed to facilitate the effective participation of non-governmental organizations and national institutions. He added that these other stakeholders have thus far participated in the universal periodic review of India in an indirect manner and looked forward to listening to their views on the outcome, which will receive India’s due consideration. 399. India looked at the universal periodic review as a continuous process and not a one-time exercise. The present deliberations marked the conclusion of the first phase of its work and the commencement of the second phase, during which India will pursue the implementation of recommendations that it had accepted here. The Head of Delegation stated that the commitment of India is not limited to these recommendations. India’s vibrant democratic polity required it to continuously pursue higher norms and standards, in the area of human rights as well as development. The delegation was confident that India will have significant progress to report in its pursuit of human rights at the time of its next review. 400. He also conveyed the delegation’s appreciation to the troika members, the representatives of Ghana, Indonesia and the Netherlands, for their constructive approach in the preparation of the report of the Working Group on the review of India and thanked OHCHR for its excellent organization of and support to this process. 2. Views expressed on the outcome by States members and observers of the Council 401. Nigeria congratulated India for being one of the pioneer set of States to undergo the universal periodic review and commended it on the efforts and the positive developments recorded since its review was conducted. Nigeria underlined that India, as the world’s largest