FUNDING United Nations Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Review The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Review was established, in 2008, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/17. This financial mechanism was created to provide a source of financial and technical assistance to help countries implement the recommendations emanating from the UPR, with the consent of and in consultation with the countries concerned. Since its establishment, the UPR has completed two cycles and the human rights record of every Member State has been reviewed at least twice. The focus of the third cycle, which began in May 2017, is the implementation of the accepted recommendations. As of 31 December, the Fund had received a total of US$417,362 in pledges and contributions compared to US$889,541 in 2018. In 2019, the total expenditure of the Fund amounted to US$585,112 compared to US$16,143 in 2018. In 2013, the Board of Trustees of the Voluntar y Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (see p. 112) has been entrusted by the Secretary-General to also serve as a Board of Trustees for the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the UPR. 118 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2019 In 2019, the Fund provided financial and technical assistance for activities in Afghanistan, Argentina, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Guatemala, Jamaica, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique Nigeria, North Macedonia, Peru, the Republic of Moldova, Samoa and Uruguay. The Fund’s strategic focus in 2019 was on assisting States in the implementation of key UPR recommendations, the establishment and/ or strengthening of the NMRFs, the creation of recommendation implementation plans and databases, as well as strengthening the UNCTs and parliamentary capacities for implementation. The consultations produced an important number of good practices, which will serve as a reference for similar regional workshops for the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe regions, to be conducted in 2020. Supported by the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the UPR, UN Human Rights organized a regional consultation on “UPR: Good practices, follow-up mechanisms and synergies with the 2030 Agenda,” in Panama, in October. With the consent of the Government of Panama and in partnership with the DCO, the UNDP Regional Centre in Panama and the RCO, the activity gathered 70 representatives from 17 Spanish-speaking countries, including senior government officials from NMRF- and SDG-related structures, representatives from NHRIs, parliaments, civil society and officers from the UN system. The objectives of the regional consultation were to share good practices and lessons learned at the various stages of the UPR process, especially regarding implementation of recommendations, and to identify challenges and opportunities in order to align initiatives to achieve human rights and the SDGs at the national level. It included the use of recommendations issued by the UPR and other human rights mechanisms in the preparation of voluntary national reports on SDGs. UN VOLUNTARY FUND FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UPR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURE IN 2019 Donor US$ France 142,854 Germany 114,155 Pakistan 3,000 Republic of Korea 50,000 Saudi Arabia 75,000 Singapore 5,000 Spain 27,352 TOTAL 417,362 EXPENDITURE 585,112