112 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS for preparing the report and contact it to see if information or comments can be submitted while the report is still in draft form. States may involve NGOs in the drafting of the report itself. NGOs will need to consider the degree to which they want to cooperate in the official reporting process, as opposed to the possibility of submitting comments or alternative reports to the Advisory Committee. Participating in a report’s preparation and commenting on it later are not mutually exclusive, and NGOs can choose to do both. The positive side of NGO participation in the preparation of a State report is that it creates an opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with the Government and to contribute to the interpretation of the Framework Convention’s provisions in the context of the country concerned. On the other hand, NGO involvement might be perceived as endorsing a State’s report, which may not be the case. In the States that are not yet a party to the Framework Convention, NGO advocacy and lobbying can focus on the need for its ratification. The role of NGOs in monitoring NGOs and minority associations have a key role in monitoring the Framework Convention, which is made explicit by Council of Ministers resolution 97 (10), which allows the Advisory Committee to receive and invite information from sources other than States. In practice, NGOs and minority associations, in many cases with support from international NGOs, have very often used this opportunity to provide the Advisory Committee with wellresearched reports which provide information about the practical implementation of the Framework Convention. Such information, as well as direct contacts with NGOs, has been welcomed by the Advisory Committee and constitutes an essential part of the Committee’s monitoring tasks.  NGOs and minorities may contribute to the monitoring of the Framework Convention at various stages of the procedure. For example, NGOs may: • Provide information to the Advisory Committee through written submissions at the time a State’s report is due, including shadow reports that may cover the situation of one or several minorities, focus on selected articles or topics or provide information on all articles of the Framework Convention;133 • Send information to the Advisory Committee at any time regarding specific issues of concern to minorities and relevant to implementation of the Framework Convention; • Meet with the Advisory Committee during its country visit; • Use the Framework Convention as a tool for dialogue, in order to communicate with State authorities during preparation of the State report, obtain information on the implementation of the Framework Convention and participate in follow-up meetings once the monitoring results are made public; • Encourage the State to publish the opinion of the Advisory Committee as soon as possible, as well as to translate it into local languages; • Increase awareness of minority rights by organizing training sessions for NGOs and minorities on the Framework Convention; • Contribute to the consultations undertaken by the Advisory Committee when it prepares commentaries on specific themes. If an NGO would like to submit a full alternative or “shadow” report, it should consider cooperating with other national or international NGOs. This will minimize duplication of work and may provide more representative and comprehensive information, which will give the report greater credibility. At a minimum, it is important to be aware of what other NGOs are doing in order to prevent presenting conflicting information. 133