dialogue. The NHRC sought to act as a bridge between the Government and civil society. The policy dialogue was successful with each government ministry appointing a senior official to act as a focal point for the NHRC and human rights more broadly. Stakeholders' consultation and workshops In light of the large number of recommendations made to Bangladesh at the 1st cycle of UPR 2009, the NHRC categorised them into thematic groups (Annexure E). The NHRC then organized consultation workshops on each thematic areas with the relevant Government agencies and subsequently with the CBOs, NGOs and other stakeholders. Consultations were held throughout the country. Human rights activists, development partners, key actors from GOs and NGOs attended those programs. The objective of the workshops was to ascertain perspectives on the progress made since February, 2009 in implementing the accepted recommendations. In addition, the workshops provided a forum for participants to provide guidance and suggestions for the effective implementation of recommendations. Further to the consultation meetings with key government actors, the following workshops were organized in order to assess the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations and define the way forward. yInstitutional Development: 26 July, 2012 yRatification on Human Rights Instruments, 28 July, 2012 y Refugees, Persons with Disability, Indigenous people, 4 August, 2012 yWomen Rights and Compliance with CEDAW, 4 August, 2012. yCivil & Political Rights, 7 August, 2012 yEconomic, Social & Cultural Rights, 7 August, 2012 yClimate change & Disaster Management, 13 August, 2012 yChild labour & Trafficking, 29 August, 2012 National Seminar on the Universal Periodic Review: “Preparation for the 2nd Cycle Review Facilitated by the Human Rights Council” Building on these consultations, and in order to bring all stakeholders together, the NHRC, organized a two day National Seminar entitled “Preparation for the 2nd Cycle Review facilitated by the Human Rights Council” on 18-19 September 2012. The Seminar provided an opportunity for the NHRC to share its draft stakeholder report and to gain feedback from concerned stakeholders including concerned Government Ministries, NGOs M. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Cabinet Secretary and Stefan Priesner, UNDP, Country Director addressing in HRD Program . 48