A/72/44 which provide immediate and direct information, both orally and in writing. The Committee conveys special thanks to non-governmental organizations, particularly the World Organisation Against Torture for its crucial role in coordinating the input of nongovernmental organizations to the work of the Committee since its fifty-second session. The Committee has benefited from thematic briefings organized by organizations, such as (a) a briefing on the role of civil society in meeting the need for effective victim and redress protection systems, held on 4 August 2016 and organized by DIGNITY – Danish Institute against Torture, and REDRESS; (b) a briefing on collecting and using data from torture victims, held on 17 November 2016 and organized by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims; and (c) a follow-up briefing on fostering connections between the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the Committee, held on 2 December 2016 and organized by REDRESS and Fair Trials. I. Participation of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms 16. Similarly, the Committee appreciates the work of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms established by States parties as provided for under the Optional Protocol to the Convention. Since the fifty-fifth session, those institutions and mechanisms have had the possibility of meeting in private plenary with the Committee. Specifically, at the fifty-eighth session, the Committee met with the institutions of Burundi and Honduras and the mechanism of Honduras; at the fifty-ninth session, it met with the institutions of Cabo Verde, Ecuador and Sri Lanka, and the institutions and mechanisms of Armenia and Finland; and at the sixtieth session, it met with the institutions of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea and the mechanism of Argentina. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the oral and written information it receives from them, and looks forward to continuing to benefit from the information it receives from those bodies, which has enhanced its understanding of the issues before the Committee. J. Rapporteurs on reprisals 17. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee decided to adopt a mechanism to prevent, monitor and follow up cases of reprisal against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, victims and witnesses after their engagement with the treaty body system. It subsequently appointed a rapporteur on reprisals under article 19 and a rapporteur on reprisals under articles 20 and 22. At its fifty-fifth session, the Committee adopted guidelines on the receipt and handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with the Committee under articles 13, 19, 20 and 22 of the Convention (CAT/C/55/2). Those guidelines include a clear recognition of the value of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines). 18. At its fifty-seventh session, the Committee designated Mr. Bruni as the rapporteur on reprisals under articles 19, 20 and 22. Information on actions taken by rapporteurs during the reporting period is available on the Committee web page. On 26 September 2016, Mr. Bruni attended a high-level panel of the Human Rights Council entitled “Comprehensive responses to acts of intimidation and reprisal in the field of human rights: current situation, existing practices and new ideas for better implementation” organized by Ghana, Hungary and Uruguay. K. Treaty body strengthening process 19. At its fifty-eighth session, the Committee discussed the recommendations of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies at their twenty-eighth meeting, held in New York from 30 May to 3 June 2016. The Committee reaffirmed its support for the treaty body strengthening outcome, while stressing again the need to allocate sufficient staff resources to the Petitions Unit in order to enable the Committee to address its backlog of individual complaints and therefore efficiently use the additional session time provided under General Assembly resolution 68/268. At that same session, the Committee held its first joint 3