A/HRC/28/31 12. An example of inter-regional cooperation among human rights mechanisms was the workshop on indigenous peoples’ rights, held in Banjul, the Gambia, in April 2013, in which IACHR, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples participated. 13. The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, participated in a workshop on human rights-based approaches to combat trafficking in persons, organized by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines, in November 2013, in which she dwelled, in particular, on the human rights aspects of trafficking, and on her mandate, in general. An exchange of views also took place between the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons and the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, in 2013. Information was exchanged with the United Nations special procedures prior to the visit of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to Spain, in 2013, particularly regarding the impact of austerity measures on social protection and on the right to health of children and migrants. 14. The European Committee on Social Rights frequently referred to the work of the United Nations special procedures, in particular to the conclusions of the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living. 15. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) maintained close contact with United Nations special procedures, including the Special Rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and on the situation of human rights defenders. 16. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance was invited to speak at a meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, in October 2013. 17. Representatives of five regional mechanisms participated in a meeting with the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice, in Geneva, on 1 October 2013. They discussed progress and challenges in relation to women’s rights and explored avenues of cooperation. 18. The United Nations special procedures found the cooperation with regional mechanisms very useful, including in terms of substantive inputs for their thematic reports; it helped them to better understand the regional aspects of certain issues, resulting in an enhanced acceptance of their findings and recommendations. 19. The signing of a joint declaration between OSCE-ODIHR and OHCHR, in 2014, was mentioned as a best practice for increased exchange of information and expertise, joint advocacy and cross-referencing. Furthermore, it was noted that the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting was a good opportunity for Member States, international organizations and civil society to take stock of the implementation of the human dimension commitments and make recommendations for further development. B. Treaty bodies 20. Cooperation between United Nations human rights treaty bodies and regional human rights mechanisms has been increasing in recent years. 6