A/HRC/15/39 in further exchanges of that kind to follow developments and cross-fertilize experiences among the different regions and parts of Asia and the Pacific. There was also encouragement for strengthened cooperation with the United Nations, including OHCHR, in promoting and strengthening regional human rights arrangements and the provision of technical assistance in that regard. 24. Noteworthy in that respect was the process which had been evolving over the past two years under the Human Rights Council,3 which brought together the existing regional arrangements to explore closer contact and collaboration with each other and with the international human rights mechanisms of the United Nations. That had already produced an interesting series of meetings and consultations, including the international workshop on “Enhancing cooperation between international and regional human rights mechanisms” organized by OHCHR and held in Geneva on 3 and 4 May 2010. AICHR, Governments, NHRIs and NGOs from the Asia-Pacific region were invited to participate in the workshop.4 Participants were very much encouraged by the participation of Asia-Pacific Member States and regional organizations in that process at the Geneva level and regionally, which could be very useful for regions in the early stages of developing regional human rights mechanisms. 25. The presentation by Mr. George Mukundi focused on the regional human rights system in Africa. He reviewed its key legal instruments adopted between 1969 and 2008. Some of the key institutions and organs he described included the Assembly and the Executive Council of the African Union and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). He informed participants that ACHPR had 11 members, and was today recognized as an independent body. The speaker mentioned that ACHPR held two sessions a year, and engaged in promotion work, undertook studies and research, organized seminars, assisted NGOs, and made recommendations to Governments, including on technical cooperation. He emphasized how in its work ACHPR cooperated with other African and international human rights mechanisms. He also informed participants of other mechanisms and mandates in the African system, including special rapporteurs and working groups. Current challenges to the system that were mentioned included lack of implementation and enforcement mechanisms, inadequate financial and human resources, and perceived concerns over its independence and impartiality. Regarding the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1998) that established the Court entered into force in 2004. He informed participants that the Court was based in Arusha, Tanzania, was made up of 11 judges, and that in 2008 there had been a decision by the Assembly of the African Union to merge it with the African Court of Justice. The speaker noted that the Court faced many challenges, including access to the Court by individuals and NGOs, enforcement of decisions, and the implications of a merger with the Court of Justice. 26. The presentation by Ms. Christina Cerna focused on the development of the InterAmerican human rights system. She informed participants that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) was originally meant only to be an aspiration, but that the Organization of American States (OAS) came to apply it as a legally binding instrument. She explained that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (created 3 4 See resolution 12/15 of the Human Rights Council. In preparation for the workshop, OHCHR organized in November and December 2009 regional consultations with existing regional human mechanisms in Africa, in Addis Ababa; the Americas, in Washington D.C.; and Europe, in Strasbourg. The consultations concluded that cooperation could be enhanced in several areas, in particular, in information sharing, possible joint activities and follow-up to decisions and recommendations resulting from international and regional human rights mechanisms. 9