A/63/263 his knowledge, neither the World Health Assembly, nor the Executive Board, have ever considered one of his reports. Despite requests, he has never met a WHO Director General since his appointment in 2002. Of course, this would not matter if the World Health Assembly, Executive Board and others were considering the right to the highest attainable standard of health in a reasonably systematic way. But the record confirms that they are not. 61. General Assembly resolution 60/251, establishing the Human Rights Council, expressly mandates the Council to ��promote the effective coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United Nations system”. The Special Rapporteur urges all parties to take steps to mainstream human rights in their health-related national and international policymaking. Support and resources 62. The Special Rapporteur is extremely grateful to all those who have helped and advised him since 2002. Of course, it is impossible to mention them all. He is very grateful to United Nations agencies, in particular UNFPA, UNAIDS and a number of very supportive WHO colleagues. PAHO’s support has been outstanding. He is grateful to those States that have invited him to visit, as well as the World Trade Organization that he reported on during 2005, and GlaxoSmithKline that he visited in June 2008. Throughout, the support of States, particularly Brazil and New Zealand, to the mandate has been vital. Civil society support has been indispensable. He is deeply indebted to the health workers who have patiently educated him about their profession, as well as ordinary people who have shared their time, insights and experiences — some of them painful and personal. 63. He is also very grateful to a number of funders, without whose financial assistance he could not have undertaken his duties. 11 He is extremely grateful to a small team of senior researchers and interns at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. Without the staff supporting his work in OHCHR nothing would have been possible. The professionalism and hard work of his colleagues at the University and OHCHR has been extraordinary. 64. Although supported by many, all have respected his independence as an expert accountable to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. 65. Funding for OHCHR has increased in recent years and this is very welcome indeed. But funding for special procedures remains a huge problem. What message does it send when a Special Rapporteur, with a global human rights mandate, is expected to do the job after office hours — in evenings and weekends — with the help of one very able, but overburdened, United Nations staff member? Such an arrangement is neither serious nor sustainable. 66. Nonetheless, the Special Rapporteur is very grateful to Member States for the opportunity to work with them towards the realization of one of the primary purposes of the United Nations, as set out in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, the promotion and protection of human rights for all. __________________ 11 14 The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), European Commission, UNFPA, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute, British Medical Association, the International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and WHO. 08-45647