The same applies in OSCE participating States. Human rights defenders and their organizations should be able to access and effectively use participation and consultation mechanisms irrespective of the nature of the rights they defend, their affiliation with a particular social group or whether they take critical positions towards state policies or actions. 222. W hile ensuring that the participation and consultation process is open to all inter- ested parties, participating States should proactively reach out, in particular, to seek the participation of human rights defenders with specific expertise on the subject matter and of individuals and groups that are representative of those that will be affected by the policy, legislative or other measures under consideration.321 They should take practical steps to ensure the openness of participation and consultation mechanisms for those with special needs, for example, human rights defenders with disabilities.322 Furthermore, in collaboration with NGOs, human rights defenders and independent NHRIs operating in accordance with the Paris Principles, participating States should take measures to strengthen the capacity of traditionally marginalized or excluded groups and human rights defenders advocating for their rights, so that they may actively and meaningfully participate in the conduct of public affairs.323 321  For related recommendations see, for example, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): “[t]he Committee recommends that the State party encourage the active and systematic involvement of civil society, including NGOs and associations of children, in the promotion and implementation of children’s rights, including, their participation in the planning stage of policies and co-operation projects, as well as in the follow-up to the concluding observations of the Committee and the preparation of the next periodic report.” See the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, “Concluding Observations: Netherlands”, UN Doc. CRC/C/NLD/ CO/3, 27 March 2009, para. 25. For similar recommendations, see also “Concluding Observations: Serbia”, UN Doc. CRC/C/SRB/CO/1, 22 June 2010, para. 24. See also, for example, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), “[t]he Committee recommends that the State party continue consulting and expanding its dialogue with civil society organizations working in the area of human rights protection, in particular in combating racial discrimination, in connection with the preparation of the next periodic report.” See the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “Concluding Observations: Canada”, UN Doc. CERD/C/CAN/CO/19-20, 4 April 2012, para. 26. 322  Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States Parties to the treaty to “[p]romote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and encourage their participation in public affairs, including: (i) Participation in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country (…); (ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at international, national, regional and local levels.” Implementation of this provision also requires practical steps to ensure the accessibility of participation and consultation mechanisms in accordance with Article 9 of the Convention, including, for example, the physical accessibility of meetings and accessibility of consultation documents, among others. Article 9 of the Convention stipulates: “[t]o enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.” 323  See the recommendation to states of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in her report on the relationship between large-scale development projects and the activities of human rights defenders, UN Doc. a/68/262, para. 81(g). In her report, the Special Rapporteur also called on private companies to: “[f]ully involve stakeholders, especially affected communities and those defending their rights, in all stages of large-scale developments projects, and engage with such stakeholders in good faith and in a meaningful way, not just as a formality”. See ibid. para. 83(c). 102 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders