a number of tasks to EU bodies concerned with those specific policy areas. The Action Plan is updated every two years to better respond to new challenges. The progress of meeting the objectives set out in the Action Plan is evaluated annually in a public report on human rights and democracy around the world. In practice, the EU has a number of human rights policy instruments at its disposal: • Human rights focal points in EU delegations – staff members specifically appointed as first points of contact for human rights organisations and defenders in third countries. • EU delegations’ local statements – released in response to current events, these statements express the EU’s position regarding, among other things, human rights violations, with the intention of immediately affecting the development of the situation. • The EU Special Representative for Human Rights – a high-level representative with a specific mandate for discussing human rights with third countries. • Human rights country strategies – documents developed by EU delegations which set out the priorities for EU action on human rights in each individual country. • EU Guidelines on Torture – a guide to EU and member state bodies on how best to influence third countries to take effective measures to prevent and eradicate torture and ill-treatment. • Consultations with local civil society – meetings organised between the EU delegation and representatives of local NGOs for the purposes of exchange of information on the state of human rights in the country. • Human rights dialogues – formalised discussions between the EU and third state governments on human rights issues within the country. Engaging with European Union foreign policy on the ground – an IRCT guide 7