A/HRC/6/10 page 13 under it remained the obstacles to eliminating racism. Several delegates also declared that implementation of existing standards and the elaboration of new standards to fill in gaps were mutually inclusive and that lack of implementation could not be used as an excuse to move away from complementary standards. 52. The member addressed some of the questions by providing additional information about the work of the Committee and the recommendations issued by it in its study. He explained the various procedures at the disposal of the Committee, highlighting recent developments, such as the new follow-up procedures developed by the Committee for both its concluding observations and its opinions adopted on individual and group communications. The Committee also stressed that the initial assessment of the follow-up procedure was quite positive, including a country visit conducted in 2006 by the coordinator on follow-up at the invitation of the State party in question. 53. The member listed various obstacles to the effectiveness of the monitoring role with which the Committee has been entrusted. In particular, he stressed non-compliance of States parties with their reporting obligations as a major impediment to the Committee’s work and the effective implementation of the Convention. Regarding individual complaints, he noted that the potential of the procedure was still to be fully exploited. 54. Regarding the Committee’s recommendations to address procedural gaps, the member summarized the list of recommendations and proposals as follows: (a) The Committee continued to urge States to regard the reporting process as being for their own benefit as well as obligatory, in compliance with article 9 of the Convention; (b) The Committee suggested that the practice of follow-up visits by the coordinator on follow-up should be further developed and that the framework for such visits be explored, including through the adoption of an optional protocol to the Convention that would further elaborate the conditions and procedures appropriate for such visits, including the financial aspects; (c) The Committee continued to encourage States to consider making the declaration under article 14 of the Convention providing for the possibility for individuals and groups of individuals to submit communications to the Committee and to give adequate publicity to that mechanism. It also recalled its proposal concerning the establishment of a single body to deal with individual communications to all treaty bodies by the means of an optional protocol to the relevant treaties. B. Presentation by the experts 55. On the third day of the second part of its session, the Working Group began its discussions on the study by the five experts on the content and scope of substantive gaps in the existing international instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Chairman of the group of experts introduced the study.