SOLVING STATELESSNESS communications dealing substantively with this issue have been those relating to deprivation of nationality in the Dominican Republic. However, the mandates responsible for these communications have not entered into a detailed analysis of the substantive issues, instead referring to the position taken by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.35 2.1.2 Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a Human Rights Council mechanism which examines the human rights situation in every Member State of the UN once every four and a half years. It is an interState mechanism; States make recommendations to the State under Review (SuR) and these recommendations are recorded as those of the recommending State rather than collective recommendations by the Human Rights Council. The SuR may choose whether or not to accept recommendations.36 Because it can cover any human rights issue and the time available to each State to make recommendations is limited, the review cannot go into detail. However, the issues on which States choose to make recommendations provide a good indication of their particular priorities and the problems that they are aware of in the SuR. As such it is a valuable source of information on the level of awareness among States and the priority they attach to particular issues. Where assistance could be useful in addressing issues, UPR recommendations can also provide a basis on which to offer aid and technical assistance. The fact that the SuR accepts or rejects recommendations is significant in that an accepted recommendation is a public commitment to address an issue. In theory subsequent UPR cycles should follow up on the implementation of these recommendations, but in practice such 35 36 human rights defenders, and Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; HRC, Communications report of Special Procedures, 20 August 2014, A/HRC/27/72, Communication BHR 6/2014, Urgent Appeal to Bahrain by Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. A/HRC/25/74 supra n34, Communication DOM 3/2013, Joint Urgent Appeal to Dominican Republic by Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Independent Expert on minority issues, and Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; HRC, Communications report of Special Procedures, 2 June 2014, A/HRC/26/21, Communication DOM 4/2013, Letter of allegation to Dominican Republic from Working Group on people of African descent. In the terminology of the UPR recommendations are accepted or noted. 25