A/76/44 the World Organization against Torture, on behalf of NGOs, as well as the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, made a statement on the relevance of the work of the Committee in the context of the COVID-19 situation and related challenges. On 28 January 2021, the World Organization against Torture held a private webinar on extracustodial use of force amounting to torture and other ill-treatment for the Committee against Torture, with the participation of the Subcommittee, the Special Rapporteur on torture, and some permanent missions and NGOs. Mr. Heller made a presentation on the extra-custodial use of force. During the seventieth session, the Committee held a private meeting online with a coalition of NGOs to discuss online activities and related challenges and achievements. H. Participation of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms 14. Similarly, the Committee appreciates the work of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms established by States parties as provided for under the Optional Protocol. Since the fifty-fifth session, those institutions and mechanisms have had the possibility of meeting in private plenary with the Committee. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the oral and written information that it receives from those bodies, and looks forward to continuing to benefit from that information, which has enhanced its understanding of the issues before it. I. Rapporteur on reprisals 15. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee decided to adopt a mechanism to prevent, monitor and follow up on cases of reprisal against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, victims and witnesses after their engagement with the treaty body system. It subsequently appointed a rapporteur on reprisals under article 19 and a rapporteur on reprisals under articles 20 and 22. At its fifty-fifth session, the Committee adopted guidelines on the receipt and handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with the Committee under articles 13, 19, 20 and 22 of the Convention (CAT/C/55/2). Those guidelines include a clear recognition of the value of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (San José Guidelines). 16. At its sixty-third session, the Committee designated Ana Racu as the rapporteur on reprisals under articles 19, 20 and 22. Information on action taken by rapporteurs during the reporting period is available on the Committee web page. J. Treaty body strengthening process 17. The Committee continued to be actively engaged in the General Assembly’s 2020 review of the human rights treaty body system, including through the provision of substantive inputs to the co-facilitators of the review.4 In the context of lists of issues prior to reporting, the Committee began to implement, on a pilot basis, the concrete measures it adopted at its sixty-eighth session to ensure that dialogues with and recommendations for States parties were more focused and coordinated with other treaty body reviews (A/75/44, annex III). 18. During the reporting period, in order to address challenges common to most treaty bodies, such as the backlog of individual complaints, non-reporting and late reporting by many States, the harmonization of working methods, and the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee has been actively engaged in the meetings of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies and the informal working group on COVID-19. On behalf of the Committee, Erdoğan İşcan attended all the meetings of the informal working group. The Chair of the Committee, Mr. İşcan and Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon attended, on 2 and 3 December 2020, a meeting of that working group focused on working methods, facilitated by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. 4 For the Committee’s past engagement in the treaty body strengthening process, see A/75/44, para. 18. 3