A/HRC/5/6 page 4 I. MANDATE 1. Arising out of its deep concern over the ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus at its fourth session, on 30 March 2007, resolution 4/8 on the “Follow-up to decision S-4/101 of 13 December 2006 adopted by the Human Rights Council at its fourth special session entitled ‘Situation of human rights in Darfur’”. 2. Through its resolution 4/8, the Human Rights Council decided to convene a group of seven mandate-holders “to work with the Government of the Sudan, the appropriate human rights mechanisms of the African Union and to closely consult with the Chairman of the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) to ensure the effective follow-up and to foster the implementation of resolutions and recommendations on Darfur, as adopted by the Human Rights Council, the former Commission on Human Rights and other United Nations human rights institutions as well as to promote the implementation of relevant recommendations of other United Nations human rights mechanisms, taking into account the needs of the Sudan in this regard, to safeguard the consistency of these recommendations and to contribute to monitoring the human rights situation on the ground” (para. 7). 3. The Human Rights Council requested the group of seven mandate-holders (the “experts group”) to report to its fifth session. II. MEMBERSHIP 4. The experts group is presided over by Ms. Sima Samar, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and is composed of Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, Mr. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, Mr. Walter Kälin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Mr. Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Ms. Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The experts group was supported by a secretariat appointed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. III. METHODOLOGY 5. The experts group convened two meetings in Geneva, from 24 to 27 April and from 23 o 25 May 2007. During the first meeting, the experts group’s terms of reference were adopted and Mr. Walter Kälin was appointed as rapporteur. Discussions focused on the interpretation of resolution 4/8, approaches for its implementation and related tasks; a common understanding regarding the mandate and a methodology for its implementation were identified and agreed upon. 6. During the second meeting, the experts group reviewed inputs submitted by the Government of the Sudan, held consultations in Geneva with an inter-ministerial delegation from Khartoum and decided about its conclusions and recommendations.