A/70/44 G. Joint statement on the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and cooperation with the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture 14. The Committee adopted a joint statement with the Subcommittee on Prevention, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture for issuance on 26 June 2014, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (see the web page of the Voluntary Fund at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/UNVFT/Pages/IntlDay.aspx). At its fifty-fourth session, the Committee held a meeting with the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund; both reiterated their willingness to pursue their cooperation in concrete terms, namely, by disseminating wid ely general comment No. 3 (2012) on the implementation of article 14 by States parties (the right to redress), by reflecting systematically the right to redress in lists of issues, lists of issues prior to reporting and concluding observations and by issuing joint statements. The Committee and its secretariat, the secretariat of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund and the Special Rapporteur on torture benefited from a briefing organized by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims on the right to rehabilitation. H. Informal meeting with the States parties to the Convention 15. At its fifty-fourth session, on 21 April 2015, the Committee held an informal meeting with States parties to the Convention, which was attended by repre sentatives of 43 States parties. The Committee and the States parties discussed the following issues: the Convention against Torture Initiative, the achievements of and challenges faced by the Committee under its reporting and complaints procedures, the fo llow-up procedure to concluding observations, cooperation with United Nations and regional anti-torture mechanisms, the budget crisis of the OHCHR and its impact on treaty bodies, and the work of the Committee in relation to reprisals. I. Participation of non-governmental organizations 16. At its fifty-fourth session, on 24 April 2015, the Committee held an informal meeting with representatives of 10 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and discussed the following issues: the role of NGOs under the main activities of the Committee, that is, its reporting and complaints procedures, the follow -up to concluding observations, confidential inquiries under article 20 of the Convention and the drafting of general comments; the use of modern communication tec hnologies, such as Skype and video conferences, for NGO hearings; the issue of non -reporting States; and the role of OHCHR capacity-building. 17. The Committee has long recognized the work of NGOs and has met with them in private, with interpretation, on the day immediately before the consideration of each State party report under article 19 of the Convention. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the NGOs for their participation in these meetings, and is particularly appreciative of the attendance of national NGOs which provide immediate and direct information. The Committee would like to convey special thanks to the World Organisation against Torture for its crucial role in coordinating NGO input to the Committee’s work since the fifty-second session. 8/24 GE.15-13195