A/HRC/5/6 page 5 7. The experts group agreed on the following parameters in order to achieve its objectives: (a) Establishing cooperation and working in a transparent manner with the Government of the Sudan and other relevant partners within the international community; (b) Identifying the obstacles to implementation of previous recommendations; (c) Prioritizing recommendations and defining reachable steps that are tangible for the victims in the short and medium terms; (d) Working at the technical level while identifying steps/benchmarks for implementation at a practical level. 8. As resolution 4/8 clearly indicates the need to work with existing recommendations, the experts group therefore reviewed resolutions and recommendations on Darfur, as adopted by the Human Rights Council, the former Commission on Human Rights, and other United Nations human rights organs and mechanisms. It concluded that the resolution does not request any fact-finding activities by the experts group, but its recommendations should contribute to monitoring the human rights situation on the ground by all relevant actors, including the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), as requested by the Human Rights Council in paragraph 8 of resolution 4/8. 9. While cognizant of the fact that implementation of aspects of some or all of the existing recommendations may have taken place, the experts group noted the deep concern expressed in resolution 4/8, regarding “the seriousness of ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, including armed attacks on the civilian population and humanitarian workers, widespread destruction of villages, and continued and widespread violence, in particular gender-based violence against women and girls, as well as the lack of accountability of perpetrators of such crimes” as well as the Council’s consensus on the urgent and continuing need to focus on fostering implementation of existing recommendations in order to enhance the human rights situation in Darfur. Therefore, the experts group intended its task as a forward-looking exercise rather than an assessment of past situations and activities undertaken by the Government of the Sudan in implementing existing recommendations. 10. The experts group was unanimous in its understanding that, while recommendations which necessitate a longer timeline for effective implementation were, at this stage, not included in its work, those, as well as the existing body of other recommendations with a human rights content on Darfur, made by various United Nations mechanisms and beyond the immediate scope of the experts group’s mandate as per resolution 4/8, maintain their full validity. IV. EXAMINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECOMMENDATIONS 11. Based on the documentation examined according to resolution 4/8, the experts group identified priority areas which were clustered in a matrix under four main categories: (a) Human rights protection; including protection of civilians and internally displaced persons; protection of women against violence; children and armed conflict; protection against summary executions, arbitrary detention, disappearances and torture; protection of witnesses and victims; and protection of human rights defenders;