Engagement of National Human Rights Institutions and Civil Society Organizations in the Reporting Procedure 6 Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 Part I (the Manual) of this Training Guide BACKGROUND READING FOR FACILITATORS Checklist of NMRF consultation capacity (optional) DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of the session participants will be able to: ¡¡ appraise the benefits of consulting with national human rights institutions and CSOs in the reporting process; and ¡¡ identify when and how to consult with national human rights institutions and CSOs as well as the main criteria for holding meaningful consultations. SESSION PREPARATIONS ¡¡ This session builds on Session 4.2 (the reporting cycle, which needs to be conducted at some point prior to this session to ensure that its learning objectives are met). It brings together the different sections of part 1 of this Training Guide which refer to this issue, namely Session 2.2 on the types and capacities of a NMRF; Session 3. stimulation of national dialogue; and Session 4.2.1 on good practices. You are encouraged to be familiar with all these sessions to be able to better facilitate this session. ¡¡ It has been designed to explore in a dynamic way a series of questions relating to consultations held by States with national human rights institutions and CSOs. TIP ÎÎKeeping the discussions within the framework of each question is essential so as to be able to present to the group the key words it came up with during the wrap-up. ¡¡ Even though the primary focus is on consultations during the treaty reporting cycle, this session can easily be extended to other human rights mechanisms entailing a reporting procedure, such as the UPR. Guidance on how to modify the session is provided where relevant. ¡¡ In advance of the training: üü Prepare a flipchart and a sheet of paper with the following six statements: • Consultations will make us understand better where the State/CSOs are coming from, i.e. our different perspectives on issues. • Consultations will build trust and cooperation between different stakeholders. • Consultations increase accountability for my organization’s or institution’s work. • Consultations will help me prepare my report to the Treaty Bodies or UPR more accurately and efficiently. • Consultations will help me solicit support for implementation of recommendations addressed to my country. • Consultations will assist in building up the knowledge of all those who participate. 75