A/HRC/RES/25/5 mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes on activities relating to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities; 7. Welcomes the establishment of the special fund for the participation of civil society and other relevant stakeholders in, inter alia, the Forum on Minority Issues, aiming to facilitate the broadest possible participation of civil society representatives and other relevant stakeholders, with particular attention being paid to participants from least developed countries; 8. Also welcomes the inter-agency cooperation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes on minority issues, in particular through the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities, coordinated by the Office of the High Commissioner, and urges them to increase their cooperation further by, inter alia, sharing knowledge and developing policies on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, drawing also on relevant recommendations of the Forum; 9. Invites the human rights treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council to continue to pay attention, within their respective mandates, to the situation and rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and, in this regard, to take into consideration relevant recommendations of the Forum; 10. Reaffirms that the universal periodic review and the United Nations human rights treaty bodies constitute important mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and, in that regard, calls upon States to effectively follow up on accepted universal periodic review recommendations relating to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and encourages States parties to give serious consideration to the follow-up to treaty body recommendations on the matter; 11. Decides to extend the mandate of the current mandate holder as a Special Rapporteur on minority issues for a period of three years, and requests the Special Rapporteur: (a) To promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, including through consultations with Governments, taking into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities; (b) To examine ways and means of overcoming existing obstacles to the full and effective realization of the rights of persons belonging to minorities; (c) To identify best practices and possibilities for technical cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, at the request of Governments; (d) To apply a gender perspective in his/her work; (e) To cooperate and coordinate closely, while avoiding duplication, with existing relevant United Nations bodies, mandates and mechanisms and with regional organizations; (f) To take into account the views of and cooperate closely with nongovernmental organizations on matters pertaining to his/her mandate; (g) To guide the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, prepare its annual meetings, to report on its thematic recommendations and to make recommendations for future thematic subjects, as decided by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012; 3