Whilst preparing the UPR, have in mind that your objective is to have States give your recommendation to the Government and that this should be as concrete as possible. An example of a concrete recommendations is the one on torture from Denmark to the Philippines: “effectively implement the anti torture act with a special focus on responsibility of superior officers, access to a medical examination and the establishment of a sufficiently resourced rehabilitation programme for torture victims” of local embassies where you can inform them about your concerns and they can ask supplementary questions. In this engagement, it might also be possible to propose concrete recommendations that the states can make during the review. This engagement with the local embassies can also be a first step in obtaining funding for going to Geneva to attend the review. Lobbying delegates in Geneva Since it is the respective permanent missions to the UN in Geneva who will be responsible for delivering the comments and recommendations, meetings with the relevant missions in Geneva is likely to be the most effective entry point for influencing each state. If you plan an advocacy trip to Geneva, and have funding to do so, plan it at least six weeks ahead of the Working Group session. Statements and recommendations of the various states are selected weeks before the session. Once the intervention is written, it is very difficult to change it. Being in Geneva ahead of the session is also a way of meeting delegates when they have time and can focus on your issue. In order to successfully influence this step of the process, it is a good idea to prepare additional and more targeted information materials to supplement the official NGO submission. One way of doing this is by preparing one-page fact sheets pertaining to each of the recommendations you would like to see come out of the review. Here you provide background information and additional readings on the issue; a justification for why it is important to address in the UPR, including reference to the issue by any other UN bodies; and suggested text Delegates in Geneva work on many countries and issues, and are therefore overworked. You need to provide them with direct, brief and clear information. Do not bring them documentation that is not in their own language or in English. for recommendations to the state under review. In this way you can offer the state a menu of different issues to choose from based on their interests. Please note that fact sheets should never be longer than one page each if you want them to be read by diplomats. Finally, for the Geneva-based delegates, it is very useful to prepare them a fact sheet comparing the main recommendations you are advocating in favour, and the recommendations the state you A Practical Guide to the UPR: How NGOs can influence the UPR process 13