A/HRC/34/23 106. It was stressed that there was a need for the establishment of national standing mechanisms for reporting and follow-up to recommendations of the United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms. Focal points in relevant ministries were also proposed. 107. The importance of a broad and transparent consultative process that included civil society and human rights defenders, practitioners and research institutions was highlighted. One civil society representative stressed the importance of art and culture, including music, in the promotion of human rights. 2. Challenges and lessons learned 108. Governments failed to prioritize the implementation of recommendations made by regional and international mechanisms, unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles had to be cleared and there was a lack of resources. 109. Mention was again made of the reprisals taken against human rights defenders and civil society and the shrinking space for human rights defenders in some countries. 110. At the national level, there was a lack of local knowledge about the decisions and recommendations made by regional and international mechanisms. 3. Forms of cooperation 111. The panellists proposed the following initiatives with a view to enhancing cooperation in the country-level implementation of the recommendations made by regional and international human rights mechanisms: (a) Create databases that could be used to cluster and follow up on recommendations; (b) Continue using focal points in each organization and communication, including the exchange of information and good practices; improve (c) Provide capacity-building and technical assistance to national human rights institutions and civil society to follow up on recommendations; (d) Enable human rights defenders and NGOs to play a more proactive and prominent role in the international and regional human rights systems, including in the implementation of recommendations. Roles should be clarified, and formal links for followup should be established; (e) Adopt national legislation that formalizes the work of NGOs and human rights defenders, and bring national laws into line with international human rights standards; (f) Translate the recommendations made by international and regional human rights systems into local languages. IV. Conclusions 112. The workshop on enhancing cooperation between United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms generated valuable proposals and recommendations, in particular with regard to cooperation with civil society and human rights defenders. 113. Participants encouraged intergovernmental organizations and States to allocate the financial and human resources necessary to facilitate effective cooperation. The role of private donors in the promotion and protection of human rights was noted, although some participants cautioned that such donors should not be allowed to 16