A/HRC/33/19 of the adoption of the San José Guidelines. Each of the treaty bodies had also designated a focal point or rapporteur on reprisals. In the case of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, its bureau serves as the focal point. 10. As part of their enhanced response on reprisals, adopted during their twenty-second annual meeting, the special procedure mandate holders appointed a focal point on the matter from among the members of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures. In addition, the annual report on special procedures presented to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session, for the first time included a separate section on intimidation and reprisals (A/HRC/31/39, sect. IV). It indicated that the mandate holders had used communications, public statements, press releases, official reports and meetings with various stakeholders to express their grave concern at all such acts, which seemed to have become increasingly severe in nature. Moreover, the Chair of the Coordination Committee, in introducing the report to the Council on 15 March 2016, stated that acts of intimidation and reprisal remained undoubtedly of the most serious concern to mandate holders and that such acts should be seen as not only aimed at preventing or stopping anyone from cooperating with them, but as an attack against the special procedures system as a whole. The Chair urged the United Nations to appoint a focal point on reprisals as soon as possible in order to develop a much needed system-wide and coordinated response. 11. In my previous reports I have stressed that the issue of reprisals needs a consistent and integral approach. In that context, I welcome the increased cooperation between international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the issuance of joint press releases and participation in general debates on the issue of reprisals during the sessions of the Human Rights Council. The focal point on reprisals for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently organized a regional consultation with civil society and experts, which resulted in the development of a road map and a guidance note on the communications procedure of the focal point on cases of reprisals. 2 In the report on its 157th session, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that those who had participated in the session had been subject to reprisals upon returning to their countries, adding that “this situation had already come up in the past in some countries, and the fact that it is happening again is disturbing”. 3 It reminded States of article 63 of its rules of procedure, which provides that States may not carry out reprisals against individuals cooperating with the Inter-American Commission or their family members. I encourage the United Nations human rights mechanisms and their regional counterparts to continue to develop and use existing avenues for cooperation, thereby reinforcing each other’s messages. III. Ensuring access to the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights 12. In my previous two reports, I referred to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, which considers applications for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. I would like to highlight again the important role it plays in ensuring that those organizations can fully participate in the work of the United Nations, including in the field of human rights (see A/HRC/27/38, para. 8, and A/HRC/30/29, para. 9). 13. On 20 May 2016, in follow-up to concerns expressed earlier over the large number of deferrals of applications (see A/69/365, paras. 73-74 and 88 (a)), the Special Rapporteur 2 3 See the intersession report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa and Focal Point on Reprisals to the 57th Ordinary session, 4-18 November 2015. OAS, “IACHR wraps up its 157th session”, 15 April 2016. 5