FUNDING VFTC VISITS COLOMBIA TO BUILD BRIDGES AND FACILITATE DIALOGUE During its session in Colombia, the Board met with State institutions and civil society organizations to discuss the challenges Colombia faces in relation to civic space and the acts of aggression against community leaders and human rights defenders and how the technical cooperation programme of the Office supports State efforts to address them. All partners stressed to the Board that the Office had been effective at building bridges, facilitating dialogue between different actors and undertaking capacity-building activities to ensure that the dialogue resulted in full respect for human rights. This was particularly evident to the Board during its visit to Buenaventura. In the course of their discussions with civil society actors and State institutions, UN Human Rights played a key role in bringing about a positive outcome during the civic strike (paro cívico). The strike was a multi-week protest, which was estimated to include nearly half of the city’s 500,000 inhabitants. The demands of the protestors and the responses of the State were grounded in human rights obligations. “The Office managed to ensure an understanding of its mandate among all stakeholders and demonstrated a considerable capacity to operate and work in a highly polarized environment and challenging security situation within the context of the peace process without losing focus, while also being perceived by all partners that the Board met with as a fully reliable partner,” said Mr. Morten Kjaerum, Chair of the Board of Trustees. FUNDING United Nations Trust Fund for a Human Rights Education Programme in Cambodia In 1992, the United Nations Trust Fund for a Human Rights Education Programme in Cambodia was established by the Secretary-General. The aim of the Trust Fund was to contribute to the development and implementation of a human rights education programme that would promote the understanding of and respect for human rights in Cambodia. Since then, it has been used to implement all of the activities of the Office in Cambodia. In 2018, the Trust Fund received US$855,949 in voluntary contributions. For more information, see pages 255-259 in the annexed USB key. TRUST FUND FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN CAMBODIA VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2018 Donor US$ Australia1 73,260 Australia2 3,556 Japan 39,263 Sweden 708,870 Switzerland2 21,000 UNESCO2 1,000 UNFPA 2 2,000 UNICEF2 5,000 UN Women2 2,000 TOTAL 855,949 1 Allocated from a contribution earmarked for activities in the Asia-Pacific Region. 2 In support of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the UDHR. United Nations Voluntary Fund for Participation in the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Participation in the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism was established by the Secretary-General in 2008, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/17. The Voluntary Fund facilitates the participation of developing states, particularly Least Developed Countries, in the UPR process. Under its terms of reference, the Voluntary Fund enables funding for a delegate to present the national report from her/his country and participate in the interactive dialogue at the Working Group session during which the delegate’s country is being considered. The delegate also attends the plenary session of the Human Rights Council when the UPR outcome is adopted. Through the Voluntary Fund, UN Human Rights facilitated the participation of government representatives from 22 States that were under review during the twenty-ninth, thirtieth and thirty-first UPR Working Group sessions as well as in the plenary session of the thirty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, which adopted the corresponding UPR outcomes. Board members meet with State representatives in Buenaventura, Colombia. © OHCHR 102 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 first workshop targeted English-speaking States in Africa and took place in Kampala, Uganda, in April. The workshop was organized in close cooperation with the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Uganda national human rights institution (NHRI). The second workshop was designed specifically for francophone countries and was jointly organized with the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) in Dakar, Senegal, in July. It was attended by representatives from over 30 countries from three continents and focused on concrete proposals to reinforce and consolidate the UPR mechanism and improve the implementation of UPR recommendations. On behalf of the OIF, Canada expressed its great appreciation for the workshop at the thirty-ninth session of the HRC. UN VOLUNTARY FUND FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE UPR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2018 Donor US$ Belgium 29,240 TOTAL 29,240 The Voluntary Fund is supporting States in their preparations for the third UPR cycle, including through workshops held at the subregional level. The workshops focus on sharing good practices in terms of preparation and reviews, implementation and follow-up, encouraging South-South and North-South cooperation and mobilizing the UN system in response to requests for assistance by participating States. The UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 103