International Human Rights and the International Human Rights System A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions • make a submission to the SP on findings and recommendations • participate in the interactive dialogue in the HRC plenary session on the SP’s report, responding to the report’s findings and recommendations • ensure that the report of the visit, including its findings and recommendations, receives wide circulation in the country • monitor and report on the safety and well-being of those human rights defenders, victims of violation and others who cooperated with the SPs • promote, monitor and report publicly, including to the SP and the HRC, on the implementation of the report’s recommendations. 5.5. Communications SPs can also receive communications, that is, complaints, regarding specific allegations of human rights violations. This function is discussed in detail in Chapter 13 of this manual. KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 7 • The special procedures are a mechanism of the Human Rights Council. They are independent human rights experts appointed to undertake specific mandates on behalf of the HRC. • A special procedure can have a thematic mandate, to deal with a specific human rights issue, or a country mandate, to deal with a specific country. • Special procedures undertake their mandates through a variety of functions, including research, studies, country visits, investigations and inquiries, and reporting to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. • All NHRIs, regardless of accreditation status, can collaborate with the special procedures in their work. The collaboration is especially important in country visits by special procedures, where the expertise and experience of the NHRI will be of great assistance to the special procedure in planning and undertaking a visit. When a special procedure reports to the Human Rights Council on a country visit, the “A status” NHRI of the concerned State can address the plenary immediately after the concerned State. 54 | Chapter 7: Special procedures