A/HRC/S-9/2 page 7 II. Organization of work of the ninth 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 6 January 2009, addressed to the President of the Council (A/HRC/S-9/1), the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as President of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as President of the Group of Arab States and Coordinator of the Group of African States, and the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as Coordinator of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, requested the convening of a special session of the Council on 9 January 2009 to address “the grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression of the occupied Gaza Strip”. 3. The request was supported by the following 33 States members of the Council: Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Uruguay and Zambia. 4. 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 7 January 2009 and decided to convene a special session of the Council on 9 January 2009. A. Opening and duration of the session 5. The Council held its ninth special session at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 9 and 12 January 2009. It held three meetings during the session. 6. The ninth special session was opened by the President of the Council. B. Attendance 7. 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.