UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD by providing expert advice on compliance with international human rights law and supporting advocacy campaigns. In November, the Association of Persons with Disabilities in Timor-Leste (ADTL) successfully obtained a grant to conduct a public campaign on the equal rights of persons with disabilities under the UN’s “Empower for Change” project. The objective was to reduce violence and discrimination against women and children with disabilities. ADTL has begun preparations for the design of the campaign materials and events that will be conducted in the first half of 2019. As one of five UN agencies implementing the project, OHCHR provided technical advice to ensure that the messaging reflected the essence of the CRPD. In 2018, civil society and the UN placed greater emphasis on advocacy for LGBTI rights. As a result of various outreach activities, the public was made more aware of the equal rights of LGBTI persons and the challenges that many people face in exercising their rights in Timor-Leste. Some of the outreach materials were developed by civil society partners, with support from the Office, and were aligned with the UN’s “Free & Equal” campaign. The second pride march in the country’s history, which was co-funded by OHCHR, attracted approximately 400 persons. There was a considerably larger crowd than in 2017. Development (D) D7 – National actors and the United Nations integrate human rights norms and standards in their programmes. UN staff improved their knowledge about the links between human rights and data and began discussions to identify those who are left behind in the context of development in Timor-Leste. 278 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OHCHR disseminated a publication entitled A Human rights-based approach to data: Leaving No One Behind in the 2030 Development Agenda, and initiated discussions with the UNCT Programme Management Team on operationalizing the “Leaving No One Behind” (LNOB) principle in UN programming. OHCHR provided comments on a draft operational guide that was prepared by the UN Sustainable Development Group in relation to LNOB. It also offered to provide pilot training for the UNCT and agency staff on the guide when it is finalized in 2019. The UN partnered with the national NGO, Belun, in order to produce five policy briefs. These briefs analysed the situation of five specific groups of vulnerable youth and focused on how to address the challenges they face while furthering the 2030 Development Agenda in Timor-Leste. Entitled Leaving no youth behind in TimorLeste, the briefs focused on youth with disabilities, LGBTI youth, young female farmers, youth who are not in education, employment or training and youth migrants. The briefs also described how these groups are faring in relation to the five pillars of the 2016 National Youth Policy that was adopted by the Timor-Leste Government, namely, health, education, work, discrimination and violence and political participation. The briefs provided concrete recommendations for the Government and other State institutions, as well as donors, on how to address the identified challenges. In close collaboration with the National Statistics Office, quantitative analysis of the 2015 Census Data was conducted for the policy briefs. The policy briefs were launched in a seminar, in April, with the support of the Secretary of State for Youth and Labour. Advocacy was undertaken throughout the year to raise awareness about the current situation of youth and to implement the recommendations of the briefs, including through meetings with officials on social media platforms. These efforts were jointly led by UNFPA, UN Women and OHCHR, as well as by Belun, were carried out in coordination with the UN Youth Results Group and funded by the UNSDG Asia-Pacific. In 2018, 91 staff (50 women 41 men) of various UN agencies and national partners in Government, the National Human Rights Institution, NGOs and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities improved their knowledge about the human rights-based approach to disability and the rights of persons with disabilities. Together with persons with disabilities, OHCHR co-facilitated a two-day training session, translated materials and tailored the training session in accordance with the local context. Subsequent to the training, UNICEF, as one of the UN agency partners of the project, used the materials and partnered with these trainers to build the capacity of teachers and officials from the Ministry of Education on disability rights. Finally, OHCHR encouraged the adoption of an integrated and participatory approach to reporting to the international human rights mechanisms and the implementation of their recommendations under the Mechanisms pillar. New policies and laws on housing, land and evictions were adopted that comply with human rights standards under the Development pillar. UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Europe (Brussels) Kosovo* (UNMIK) Serbia Belarus Russian Federation Ukraine Central Asia (Bishkek) Republic of Moldova Geneva South Caucasus (Tbilisi) Republic of North Macedonia TYPE OF PRESENCE LOCATION Headquarters Geneva Country/Stand-alone Offices/ Human Rights Missions Ukraine Regional Offices/Centres Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Europe (Brussels, Belgium) Human rights components of UN Peace/Political Missions Kosovo* (UNMIK) Human Rights Advisers deployed under the framework of the UNDG Belarus, Republic of Moldova, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, South Caucasus (based in Tbilisi, covering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) Other types of field presences Russian Federation * Reference to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. In 2018, the work of OHCHR in Europe and Central Asia covered 54 countries, including nine territories run by de facto authorities. OHCHR established a new field presence in Belarus by deploying a Human Rights Adviser to the UN Country Team (UNCT). OHCHR stepped up its engagement with Armenia, Moldova and Montenegro through the deployment of human rights officers in each country as surge capacity within the respective UNCTs. In other locations, OHCHR maintained a strong country engagement from Geneva and through its field presences, including the Regional Offices for Europe (based in Brussels) and for Central Asia (based in Bishkek); Human Rights Advisers in the Republic of North Macedonia and the South Caucasus (based in Georgia); human rights officers/staff in the Russian Federation and Serbia; one human rights component of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo; and the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. During the reporting period, the Europe and Central Asia region faced multiple challenges to human rights. These included rule of law challenges; the persistence of frozen conflicts in disputed territories; discrimination, hate speech and attacks against migrants, Roma, LGBTI persons and sexual minorities; racism and xenophobia; threats against journalists and media freedom; reprisals against human rights defenders; corruption; terrorism; shrinking civic space; the use of legal regulations and sanctions to limit fundamental freedoms; the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the use of torture against persons in detention; and wide development disparities. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 279