FUNDING Contingency Fund The Contingency Fund is a flexible funding mechanism that was established in 2006 to carry out activities and implement the priorities and strategies of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, particularly in response to human rights emergencies. This was primarily achieved by the rapid deployment of human rights staff and the provision of necessary logistical support. The Fund, which is financed through voluntary contributions, aims to maintain a balance of approximately US$1 million at all times. Cash advances are withdrawn from the Fund to enable the implementation of emergency response activities without administrative delays. When subsequent funding is received from other sources, the Fund is reimbursed. Since the inception of the Fund, the capacity of UN Human Rights to provide conceptual and operational support to unforeseen mandates or situations requiring rapid response has significantly increased. In 2019, the Contingency Fund facilitated the emergency deployments of UN Human Rights’ teams in nine countries with deteriorating human rights situations: Burkina Faso (to support the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT to mainstream human rights in peacebuilding); Venezuela (to conduct remote monitoring of serious violations of international human rights law); Cameroon (to conduct human rights monitoring in Anglophone regions); Mozambique (to advise the regional Humanitarian Country Teams on human rights); Sudan (to conduct enhanced human rights remote monitoring); Mexico (to monitor the human rights situation of migrants in detention centres); Sri Lanka (to strengthen the Resident Coordinator’s early warning and prevention tools UN HUMAN RIGHTS’ RAPID DEPLOYMENT IN CABO DELGADO, MOZAMBIQUE I was deployed to Mozambique, in June, for one month, to reinforce the UN protection response co-led by UNFPA and UNICEF after Cyclone Kenneth hit the northern province of Cabo Delgado, in April. Having previously worked in the north of Mozambique, I was able to use my knowledge and experience to support UNFPA, Kieren Duarte-Costa, Human Rights UNICEF and other partner orgaOfficer. © Kieren Duarte-Costa nizations in the Cabo Delgado Protection Cluster to respond to the needs for protection and reinforce the human rights capacity. Cyclone Kenneth caused floods and landslides, affecting 286,282 people in the north of Mozambique and resulting in the deaths of 45 people in the province of Cabo Delgado alone. The humanitarian crisis was exacerbated by the continuing displacement in certain districts due to regular armed attacks on villages by unidentified assailants. UN partner agencies and NGOs joined forces to provide humanitarian assistance to the population in the worst-affected areas. The primary aim of the UN Human Rights rapid deployment was to ensure that vulnerable groups in Cabo Delgado were not left behind. My role was to monitor that they had access to aid and their specific needs were addressed. Cabo Delgado is one of the poorest provinces of the country and the devastation caused by the cyclone added to the social and economic difficulties that vulnerable groups were already facing. These groups included persons with disabilities, older persons who did not have support from family members, orphaned or lost children, single/female headed households and persons living with HIV. The most affected were those displaced in rural areas since many no longer had access to State benefits and healthcare. I worked together with UN partners to assess the needs of vulnerable groups and identify local organizations which could provide humanitarian assistance in more remote areas. Information collected was fed into the UN Humanitarian Response Plan and bilaterally shared with partner agencies. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2019 127