A/RES/58/175 7. Encourages national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights established by Member States to continue to play an active role in preventing and combating all violations of human rights as enumerated in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and relevant international instruments; Notes with satisfaction the efforts of those States that have provided their 8. national institutions with more autonomy and independence, including by giving them an investigative role or enhancing such a role, and encourages other Governments to consider taking similar steps; Reaffirms the role of national institutions, where they exist, as 9. appropriate agencies, inter alia, for the dissemination of human rights materials and other public information activities, including those of the United Nations, in particular in the context of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995–2004; 10. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to give high priority to requests from Member States for assistance in the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions as part of the United Nations Programme of Advisory Services and Technical Assistance in the Field of Human Rights; 11. Commends the high priority given by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to work on national institutions, encourages the High Commissioner, in view of the expanded activities relating to national institutions, to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made and budgetary resources provided to continue and further extend activities in support of national human rights institutions, and invites Governments to contribute additional funds to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights for that purpose; 12. Welcomes the establishment of a national institutions web site 5 as an important vehicle for the delivery of information to national institutions and for sharing best practice, and further notes with satisfaction the intention of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to publish a compendium of national legislation relevant to national institutions; 13. Notes with appreciation the increasingly active and important role of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions, as recognized in Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/54 of 4 March l994, 6 in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in assisting Governments and national institutions, when requested, to follow up on relevant resolutions and recommendations concerning the strengthening of national institutions; 14. Also notes with appreciation the holding of regular meetings of the International Coordinating Committee and the arrangements for the participation of national human rights institutions in the annual sessions of the Commission on Human Rights; 15. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the necessary assistance for holding meetings of the International Coordinating Committee during _______________ 5 www.nhri.net (National Human Rights Institutions Forum). See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1994, Supplement No. 4 and corrigendum (E/1994/24 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A. 6 3