A/HRC/5/6 page 9 29. On 23 April, Ms. Sima Samar had introductory meetings with representatives of the Permanent Mission of the Sudan in Geneva, the President of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and senior officials of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 30. Between 24 and 27 April, the experts group held a series of consultations with representatives of the diplomatic community, including the ambassadors of Algeria, Egypt, Germany, Ghana and Romania, as well as the Permanent Observer of the African Union and the ambassadors of Morocco and Mauritius, in their capacity as “troika” of the African Regional Group. The Ambassadors of China and South Africa were not immediately available to meet with the experts group. Representatives of the diplomatic community expressed support and gave valuable suggestions for the work of the experts group. 31. The experts group met, on different occasions, with the President of the Human Rights Council, to discuss methods of work and exchange views on the novel approach instituted by the Council and briefed the Bureau of the Human Rights Council twice on progress achieved. 32. The experts group received information from the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and conducted consultations, in person and via audio-conference, with international NGOs, Geneva-based Sudanese NGOs in addition to individual experts - including from Sudan - on Darfur. The interlocutors provided valuable information on the situation in Darfur, on priority areas of concern as well as on obstacles hampering implementation of existing recommendations. VII. CONSULTATIONS WITH THE AFRICAN UNION 33. Resolution 4/8 specifically calls on the experts group to work with the African Union and its human rights mechanisms. Taking into account the important role of the African Union in the Abuja peace process and the need for all parties, including the non-signatories, to the conflict to adhere to and implement the Darfur Peace Agreement, the experts group considers these contacts to be of particular importance. On three occasions, the experts group held consultations with and briefed the African Union’s Permanent Observer in Geneva, together with the “troika” of the African Regional Group and in presence of the Permanent Mission of the Sudan. 34. The experts group also initiated contacts with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) secretariat and its mechanisms; the Special Rapporteur on refugees and displaced persons in Africa communicated with the experts group via audio-conference on 27 April. While initial plans to organize a meeting between the Chairperson of the experts group and the ACHPR in Banjul could not been realized, a follow-up meeting between the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons and the ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Internally Displaced and Migrants in Africa took place in Addis Ababa, on 11 May. On 16 May, the experts group submitted a statement to the opening meeting of the forty-first session of the ACHPR emphasizing the need to deepen cooperation on Darfur between the mechanisms of the ACHPR and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.