the EEAS and the Member States to adopt as best practice the method of working on human rights issues locally through human rights working groups formed among EU delegations and embassies of EU Member States; urges also that regular contacts be maintained with civil society representatives, human rights defenders and members of national parliaments; supports the EEAS aim to provide training on human rights and democracy for all EEAS, Commission, EU delegation and CSDP mission staff, and for the staff of European Union agencies – FRONTEX in particular – that have relationships with third countries; asks for great attention to be paid, in particular, to protecting human rights defenders; takes the view that human rights country strategies should be mainstreamed in the EU’s CFSP, CSDP, trade and development policies, both in geographic and thematic programmes, to ensure greater efficiency, effectiveness and coherence; EU action in the United Nations 12. Welcomes EU efforts to support and revitalise the human rights work within the UN system, including the conclusion of the review of the UN Human Rights Council in 2011; stresses the continued importance of supporting the independence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the role of the thematic and country-specific UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights, and looks forward to their close cooperation with the newly appointed EU Special Representative for Human Rights; emphasises the significance of the European Union accession of 22 January 2011 to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as the first UN human rights convention ratified by the European Union as a legal entity; 13. Stresses the importance of, and strong support for, the EU’s active participation in the work of the UNHRC by means of co-sponsoring resolutions, issuing statements and participation in interactive dialogues and debates; 14. Welcomes the leadership shown by EU Member States to support the credibility of the UN human rights system by jointly extending a standing invitation to all UN Special Procedures on Human Rights, by initiating a UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Special Session on Libya, where the historic recommendation of Libya’s suspension from the HRC was made, and by taking the lead in efforts that led to the establishment of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria; 15. Recognises the EU’s potential for outreach and creative coalition-building as exemplified by EU action which paved the way to the passing of the landmark HRC resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, which was supported by states from all regions, and the consensus-building in Geneva and New York regarding the need to fight religious intolerance and protect freedom of religion or belief whilst avoiding a potential detrimental effect on other core human rights, such as freedom of expression; 16. Reiterates its opposition to the practice of regional groups arranging uncontested elections to the Human Rights Council; 17. Recommends following up on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations by including them systematically in EU human rights country strategies as well as in human rights dialogues and consultations; 18. Recalls the need for sufficient funding to keep the regional offices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) open;