Foreword by the High Commissioner High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein. © OHCHR I am delighted to present this Annual Report for the UN Human Rights Office. It details the wealth of work we achieved during 2017, as well as progress made over our four year planning cycle, which closed in December. The mandate of the UN Human Rights Office is to promote and protect all human rights by everyone – everywhere. This is a formidable and complex mission, which is becoming increasingly challenging. We seek to prevent discrimination, exclusion, and deprivation, and contribute to fostering just and inclusive societies that are respectful of human dignity and rights. We seek to assist in building societies where disputes can be peacefully resolved; where development opportunities are available to all; where fundamental rights are respected; and where institutions are inclusive, transparent and accountable – at the service of all their people. These are solid steps toward prevention – and prevention works. States that uphold human rights avoid the festering of grievances which so often lead to conflict. Countries that invest in women’s rights, engage marginalized groups in meaningful participation and set up impartial, inclusive institutions demonstrably reduce the risk of violence. It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary range of work that is featured in these pages. To take one massive area of work – advice to legislative bodies regarding laws that will benefit generations of people – and focusing on just one essential area, the rights of women, I hail the progress made regarding legislation and policies to combat specific areas of gender discrimination in Belarus, the Gambia, Jamaica, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as by the Economic Community of West African States. We also engaged strong efforts to combat all other forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia, and discrimination against people with disabilities and the LGBTI community. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2017 3