List of the top five issues addressed by the 14,435 recommendations made from the 1st to the 9th session are: • International Instruments (2709) • Women’s Rights (2494) • Rights of the Child (2222) • Torture and CIDT (1140) • Justice (1089) On an average, states accepted 71% of recommendations. Statistics from UPR info: http://www.upr-info.org/ Positive elements of UPR The fact that states are required to express their position on each recommendation may help hold states accountable to implementation of accepted recommendations and lead to continued national and international monitoring on all recommendations. The continuous four and a half year reporting cycle is another positive element of the UPR. So far almost all states have reported and been reviewed as scheduled, including states that have not ratified certain treaties or are not complying with their reporting obligations to the treaty bodies, will be subjected to a review of their human rights record where they can also be given procedural recommendations such as treaty ratification, submission of delayed treaty body reports and implementation of specific treaty body recommendations. In many countries, the UPR process has resulted in a more vibrant national debate 6 A Practical Guide to the UPR: How NGOs can influence the UPR process about the situation of human rights in the country, and the process of submitting information to the review has often lead to stronger cooperation within the NGO community - especially where NGOs create coalitions to submit joint reports to the UPR. All this has, in certain instances, created what can be described as a human right momentum, resulting in less controversial recommendations being effectively addressed in the aftermath of the review. When the Human Rights Council has officially adopted the recommendations, it is up to all stakeholders including government agencies, diplomatic community, UN agencies, national human rights mechanisms, and NGOs to work towards their implementation. Here, the four and a half year reporting cycle sets a natural deadline for an evaluation of the degree of implementation of the previous recommendations and the overall human rights situation in the country.