A/HRC/7/14 Page 8 14. On 30 November, the Special Rapporteur, along with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, released a statement expressing concern about the constitutional referendum that would be held in Venezuela. The three independent experts underlined their concern that some provisions submitted to popular vote, particularly concerned states of emergency and the operation of non-governmental organizations, could undermine a set of fundamental rights that should be enjoyed at all times. C. Participation in meetings and seminars 15. From 18 to 22 June 2007, the Special Rapporteur participated in the 14th annual meeting of special procedures, held in Geneva. The meeting primarily discussed the institution-building process conducted by the Human Rights Council and the new methods of work of mandate-holders, as well as issues such as cooperation with civil society, national human rights institutions and among special-procedures mandates. 16. On 5 December 2007, the Special Rapporteur submitted a statement to the expert meeting organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva to discuss and outline indicators to measure respect for the right to freedom of opinion and expression. In the statement he transmitted, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the importance of defining concrete yardsticks to monitor freedom of expression and violations that take place around the world. He underscored the importance of avoiding the risk, when employing these indicators, of creating crude comparisons between countries that are fundamentally different. Rather, he suggests that the indicators should be seen as an attempt to assess a country’s progress compared to its own historical trajectory, following the approach used by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. 17. On 7-8 December 2007, the Special Rapporteur also transmitted a statement to the Expert seminar on diversity in the broadcast media, organized by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Article 19 and the Institute of Information Law in Amsterdam. In his statement, the Special Rapporteur made a broad review of issues related to diversity in the media, including licensing, State advertising as well as diversity of outlets and content. At the