A/73/44 Committee conveys special thanks to non-governmental organizations, particularly the World Organisation Against Torture for its outstanding role in coordinating the input of non-governmental organizations to the work of the Committee since its fifty-second session. The Committee has benefited from thematic briefings organized by organizations, such as: (a) a briefing on overcrowding and torture and ill-treatment, held on 7–8 August 2017 and organized by Penal Reform International with its partners the American Civil Liberties Union and the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales; (b) a briefing on the issue of ill-treatment in psychiatric institutions, held on 27 November 2017 and organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture; and (c) a briefing on how the Convention applies to children held on 16 May 2018 and organized by the World Organisation Against Torture. I. Participation of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms 16. Similarly, the Committee appreciates the work of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms established by States parties as provided for under the Optional Protocol to the Convention. Since the fifty-fifth session, those institutions and mechanisms have had the possibility of meeting in private plenary with the Committee. Specifically, at the sixty-first session, the Committee met with the institution of Ireland and the mechanism of Paraguay; at the sixty-second session, it met with the institutions of Cameroon, the Republic of Moldova and Timor Leste and the mechanism of Italy; and at the sixty-third session, it met with the institutions of Norway, Qatar, Senegal and Tajikistan, the institution and mechanism of Czechia and the mechanisms of Norway and Senegal. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the oral and written information it receives from them, and looks forward to continuing to benefit from the information it receives from those bodies, which has enhanced its understanding of the issues before the Committee. J. Rapporteurs on reprisals 17. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee decided to adopt a mechanism to prevent, monitor and follow up cases of reprisal against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, victims and witnesses after their engagement with the treaty body system. It subsequently appointed a rapporteur on reprisals under article 19 and a rapporteur on reprisals under articles 20 and 22. At its fifty-fifth session, the Committee adopted guidelines on the receipt and handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with the Committee under articles 13, 19, 20 and 22 of the Convention (CAT/C/55/2). Those guidelines include a clear recognition of the value of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines). 18. At its fifty-seventh session, the Committee designated Mr. Bruni as the rapporteur on reprisals under articles 19, 20 and 22. At its sixty-third session, Ana Racu acceded to that mandate. Information on actions taken by rapporteurs during the reporting period is available on the Committee web page. K. Treaty body strengthening process and special procedures 19. At its sixty-first session, the Committee discussed the recommendations of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies at their twenty-ninth meeting, held in New York from 26 to 30 June 2017. The Committee reaffirmed its support for the treaty body strengthening outcome, while stressing again the need to allocate sufficient staff resources to the Petitions Unit in order to enable the Committee to address its backlog of individual complaints and therefore efficiently use the additional session time provided under General Assembly resolution 68/268. At that same session, the Committee held its session joint meeting with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to discuss issues of common interest and areas of cooperation. In May 2017, Ms. Gaer attended a meeting on reforming and strengthening the treaty body system, organized by the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva. The Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations, Mr. Hani, attended an expert meeting on follow-up to treaty bodies recommendations, organized by OHCHR, the Geneva Academy, TB-net, the Open Society Justice Initiative 3