FUNDS ADMINISTERED BY UN HUMAN RIGHTS UN Voluntary Fund for Participation in the UPR Voluntary contributions in 2017 Donor US$ Belgium 28,441 Republic of Korea 25,000 5,000 Singapore TOTAL 58,441 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 established to provide, in conjunction with multilateral funding mechanisms, a source of financial and technical assistance to help countries implement the recommendations emanating from the UPR, in consultation with and with the consent of the countries concerned. The Trust Fund has been primarily used to strengthen the national structures empowered to follow up on and coordinate the implementation of recommendations, such as supporting the creation or strengthening of standing interministerial structures for reporting and follow-up, as well as the development of enabling tools, such as national implementation plans and databases for tracking purposes. Technical cooperation for support in implementing thematic recommendations has also been extended within the context of the work of national structures for follow-up. Support was provided through United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs), which are a vital tool for enabling UNCTs to better mainstream the recommendations issued by international human rights mechanisms into their country programming. In 2017, the Fund received US$640,918 and a total of 15 projects were supported during the year. The emphasis on implementation of UPR recommendations was strengthened in 2017 and the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund provided strategic guidance and advice to UN Human Rights aimed at strengthening the Fund’s reach and impact. The Board discussed strategic guidance at its seventh annual session, in Geneva, in March, and at its eighth field meeting, in Beirut, in October. These discussions focused on strengthening the 116 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2017 Fund’s support to: national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up; comprehensive national human rights action plans and the implementation plans of recommendations (linked to the Universal Human Rights Index); the integration of UPR outcomes into UN planning documents at the national level (UNDAF and other country-level plans); and key thematic human rights issues identified in recommendations. In this regard, the Board encouraged UN Human Rights to develop simplified and streamlined internal guidelines on how to use the Fund, which can serve as a key tool for the Office’s field presences to provide more effective follow-up support to States, along with other tools that have been developed or are currently under development. In 2017, the Fund provided financial and technical assistance for activities in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Iraq, Lesotho, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. UN Voluntary Fund for Implementation of the UPR Voluntary contributions in 2017 Donor US$ 22,753 France 111,982 Germany 10,000 Kazakhstan 237,192 Norway 3,000 Paraguay Repulic of Korea 25,000 Saudi Arabia 75,000 Spain 55,991 100,000 United Arab Emirates TOTAL 640,918 Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States in the work of the Human Rights Council The Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the work of