CAT/C/70/2 31. The Subcommittee continued to cooperate systematically with other mechanisms, including by transmitting to the Committee against Torture suggestions for it to consider that concern States parties to the Optional Protocol, the reports of which are to be considered at forthcoming sessions of the Committee, and issues for it to consider raising with States parties under the simplified reporting procedure. 32. The Subcommittee also continued its cooperation with the regional offices of OHCHR, the United Nations country teams and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 33. The Subcommittee continued to cooperate with the treaty body capacity-building programme, particularly in support of the work of national preventive mechanisms. 2. Cooperation with other relevant international organizations 34. The Subcommittee continued its cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross. B. Regional cooperation 35. The Subcommittee continued its cooperation with regional organizations, including the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, building on the reciprocal exchange of letters to give effect to article 31 of the Optional Protocol in order to strengthen complementarity and subsidiarity. During its forty-second session, the Subcommittee also held an online meeting with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 1. Regional webinars in South America 36. In response to multiple queries from national preventive mechanisms concerning their role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of regional webinars was held with national preventive mechanisms in South America, commencing in February 2020, initially on a weekly basis, and subsequently on a monthly basis. The webinars sought to strengthen the capacity of national preventive mechanisms to respond to the pandemic and to provide a forum for the sharing of good practices, facilitating the delivery of technical assistance and enabling the sharing of information concerning the situation in places of deprivation of liberty in the region. C. Civil society 37. The Subcommittee continued to benefit from the support of civil society, including the Association for the Prevention of Torture and a number of academic institutions, such as the Human Rights Implementation Centre at the University of Bristol. The Subcommittee also benefited from its contact with civil society organizations in preparation for visits, and it thanks those organizations for their work in promoting and supporting the Optional Protocol, despite the fact that none of those visits were concluded this year. D. Informal working group on COVID-19 38. At their informal meeting, held from 2 to 5 June 2020, the Chairs of human rights treaty bodies agreed to establish an informal working group comprised of the treaty bodies’ focal points for the review by the General Assembly of the human rights treaty body system in 2020. The working group was tasked with considering the impact of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the methods of work of the treaty bodies; gathering information relating to the ability of the treaty bodies to work online during the COVID-19 pandemic; and reviewing the substantive comments made by the treaty bodies concerning the human rights implications of the pandemic. The working group held online meetings on 3, 10 and 17 July 2020, with approximately 28 members from all 10 treaty bodies participating. 8