extended; 49. Warmly welcomes the 2008 decision of the UNHRC to extend the mandate of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights, and the Council conclusions adopted in December 2009 under the Swedish Presidency welcoming the work of the Special Representative; calls on the EU Member States to continue to work towards the operationalisation of the final recommendations of the mandate and the "protect, respect, remedy" framework due to be presented to the UNHRC in 2011; 50. Welcomes the special sessions of the UNHRC on the human rights situation in the east of the DRC, on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realisation and effective enjoyment of human rights, on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, and on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and East Jerusalem; regrets that during the 12th session of the UNHRC on 16 October 2009 the EU Member States failed to come up with a single position with regard to the vote on the Goldstone report, with 4 Member States voting against, 2 abstaining and 2 being absent during the vote; calls on the Member States and all relevant EU institutions to achieve closer policy coordination in the HRC and other UN bodies; stresses that respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law by all parties and under all circumstances is an essential prerequisite for achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East; urges all parties, therefore, to comply with the UNGA resolutions adopted on 5 November 2009 and 26 February 2010 by conducting investigations that meet international standards; calls on the HR/VP to ensure that those who have committed violations of international law are held accountable in accordance with the EU obligation under the Geneva Convention and the EU priority of combating impunity; 51. Supports the independence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); regrets that during the 10th regular session in March 2009, despite the EU’s opposition, a resolution aimed at limiting OHCHR’s independence was adopted; calls on the EU institutions to provide additional financial support to OHCHR’s special procedures system as a whole, so as to make sure that all special procedures’ mandate holders have enough resources to perform their functions adequately; EU cooperation with the International Criminal Court 52. Reiterates its strong support for the International Criminal Court and its primary objective of fighting impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity; welcomes the fact that the ratifications of the Rome Statute by Bangladesh, the Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Moldova in March, August and October 2010 brought the total number of States Parties to 114; stresses that the Rome Statute of the ICC was ratified by all the EU Member States as an essential component of the democratic principles and values of the Union and therefore calls upon the Member States to comply fully with the Statute as part of the EU acquis; underlines the importance of the principle of universality, and calls on the EEAS, the EU Member States and the Commission to continue their vigorous efforts to promote universal ratification of the Rome Statute and the agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court and national implementing legislation, and to review the Council Common Position 2003/444/CFSP of 16 June 2003 on the International Criminal Court and the 2004 Action Plan to follow up on the Common Position; requests that such efforts be extended to the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ICC (APIC), an important operational tool for the Court; further calls on EU Member States to revise and update the Common Position and Action Plan on the ICC in order to reinforce effective assistance by the EU of the ICC in light of current developments, challenges and needs of the Court, as the warrants for arrest and trials at the ICC continue to increase in number, as well as to start discussions on the