A/54/426 Bahrain, Brazil and Tunisia remain without positive response. E. Other activities 31. In its resolutions, the Commission on Human Rights has considered it desirable that the Special Rapporteur continue to exchange views with the relevant human rights mechanisms and bodies, especially the Committee against Torture and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular with a view to enhancing further their effectiveness and mutual cooperation while avoiding unnecessary duplication with other special procedures, and that he should pursue cooperation with relevant United Nations programmes, notably that on crime prevention and criminal justice (see, for example, resolution 1999/32, para. 28). To this end, the Special Rapporteur has regularly met with other mechanisms and agencies as described below. 32. During his first year in his office, the Special Rapporteur held a formal meeting with the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. At this meeting, he assured the Board that he would continue his predecessor’s support for its work, encourage contributions to its resources and disseminate, as appropriate, information on its work to those that could benefit from the assistance it offers. 33. On 19 May 1998, the Special Rapporteur participated in the first joint meeting with the Committee against Torture and the Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, together with the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The other bodies with mandates connected with the question of torture exchanged views and information on how each of them works and the complementary nature of their mandates. The meeting also adopted a statement for 26 June, United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Although a joint meeting was not able to be held in 1999, a joint statement was issued on the International Day. The Special Rapporteur believes that it would be valuable to hold such meetings on a periodic basis. 34. While limited resources have made it impossible for the Special Rapporteur to attend on a regular basis the sessions of the Committee against Torture, the Special Rapporteur has met as frequently as possible with the Committee and/or its Chairman. As noted above, he participated in the first joint meeting with the Committee and the Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, together with the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Further, 8 in carrying out his mandate, the Special Rapporteur coordinates closely with the Committee to avoid unnecessary duplication. 35. In its resolution 1993/41, entitled “Human rights in the administration of justice”, the Commission on Human Rights invited the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to explore ways and means of cooperating with the human rights programme in the field of the administration of justice, with special emphasis on the effective implementation of norms and standards. Mindful of this resolution, the Special Rapporteur accepted an invitation to attend the second session of that Commission, where he stressed the importance of norms and standards adopted in the criminal justice field for his own work. Of particular relevance were the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955), the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1975) and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (1979). The Special Rapporteur subsequently attended the third session of that Commission in 1994 and the fifth session in 1996. 36. The Special Rapporteur also attended the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Cairo in 1995. At the Congress, he participated in an ancillary meeting organized by Penal Reform International (PRI) on a draft manual prepared by PRI with the aim of making the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners more accessible, especially to prison staff. 37. The Special Rapporteur has participated in all six annual meetings of special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the Commission on Human Rights and of the advisory services programme. The Special Rapporteur considers these meetings an important opportunity to exchange views with his colleagues to improve coordination between mechanisms, thereby avoiding unnecessary overlap and duplication of work. The Special Rapporteur acted as Rapporteur of the first two meetings and is currently the Chairman of the sixth meeting of speci a l rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups. 38. The Special Rapporteur attended the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in September 1995, during which he participated in a seminar organized by the Centre for Human Rights. At this seminar, he drew attention to the position taken by the meeting of special rapporteurs on the issue of the integration of women’s