their comments and questions, and most importantly their recommendations, orally during the review. followed by 20 minutes for the states and ending with 20 minutes for other stakeholders, including NGOs and NHRIs. Review in Geneva The adoption of the report concludes the official review. The first part of the review in Geneva (Switzerland) consists of a three and a half hour session in the Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group. The UPR Working Group consists of all the 47 members of the Council and is formally responsible for conducting the review. In practice all states are allowed to participate in the dialogue. It is during this session that states will present their comments, questions and recommendations. The state under review presents its report and engages in dialogue with the other states. The Working Group adopts a report a few days after the session, containing all recommendations. It can also contain a preliminary decision by the state under review about whether it accepts each individual recommendation. Outcome The last step is the adoption of the outcome report by the Human Rights Council, which takes place during a following Council session. The state under review has to indicate at this stage whether it accepts each of the recommendations. During the one-hour slot allocated for adoption of each Outcome Report, the state under review is awarded 20 minutes to provide further comments on the review, Follow-up on UPR recommendations Formally, it is the responsibility of the state to implement the recommendations in the outcome report. However, NGOs, NHRIs and other stakeholders have to play a significant role in monitoring, promoting and assisting the implementation of specific recommendations. Whilst there is no formal follow-up mechanism associated with the UPR, states are encouraged to submit information on an ongoing basis on initiatives taken to implement concrete recommendations. As of March 2011, ten states have provided written follow-up information. In addition, the fixed four and a half year review cycle provides another venue for follow-up. The degree of implementation of past UPR recommendations is to be addressed during subsequent reviews. At the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, the Republic of Poland submitted information on the implementation of all 29 recommendations it had received at its review, although it did not give a clear answer if it accepted or not the recommendations. A Practical Guide to the UPR: How NGOs can influence the UPR process 9