A/59/329 Commission on Human Rights, with the final outcome being submitted to these bodies. 12. From 21 to 25 June 2004, the Special Rapporteur participated in the eleventh meeting of special rapporteurs, representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of working groups of the Commission on Human Rights. Among the decisions adopted, of particular interest, in the Special Rapporteur’s view, is the decision to further enhance coordination among the special rapporteurs so as to facilitate joint action, which is likely to have greater impact. In this regard, the signature of joint communications, urgent or otherwise, and the publication of joint statements on situations requiring an immediate reaction from the human rights mechanisms were recognized as well-established procedures that should guide coordination with a view to joint field missions. In addition, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision to encourage the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights to protect the independent status of special procedures and to take account of equitable geographical representation in the appointment of mandate-holders. The Special Rapporteur believes that recognizing and consolidating the independence of the Commission’s mandate-holders also serves as a guarantee of the Commission’s credibility and is a prerequisite for building relations of trust with actual and potential victims of human rights violations. He recommended that the annual meeting of special procedures should also be an opportunity to meet and have a dialogue with organizations and agencies of the United Nations system. For the Special Rapporteur has noted with regret, in the course of his country visits, a lack of commitment to the fight against racism and discrimination and a lack of action on the part of some of these organizations. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that the Commission should be more vigilant and proactive in encouraging Member States to cooperate in the fulfilment of the special rapporteurs’ mandates, in particular, by agreeing promptly to requests to visit, by examining the special rapporteurs’ critical comments objectively and constructively and by following up on their recommendations. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur believes that, in the light of the ethical dimension of his mandate, the dialogue he initiates with the authorities of the countries he visits and the expectations those visits raise among victims, he should be involved on a more systematic basis in the follow-up to his reports and the implementation of his recommendations. He has therefore informed the authorities of the countries he has visited that he wishes to contribute to this phase of his mandate. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the positive and constructive response of the Government of Canada to his request for a visit to follow up on his report. Concerning his future programme of work, he hopes that he will receive positive responses to his formal requests for visits from the competent authorities of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Japan and the Russian Federation as soon as possible. C. Field missions 13. The Special Rapporteur visited Côte d’Ivoire from 9 to 21 February 2004. The main purpose of this mission, which will be the subject a comprehensive report to be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixty-first session in March 2005, was to attempt an objective assessment of the role of ethnic factors in the crisis facing the country. The Special Rapporteur’s visit benefited from excellent practical and logistical arrangements thanks to full collaboration from the Ivorian 8