FUNDING
CONTINGENCY FUND
VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2019
Donor
US$
France
89,186
Norway
108,319
Republic of Korea
100,000
TOTAL
297,505
and monitor the human rights situation); Chile (to monitor human rights
in the context of demonstrations); and
Bolivia (to monitor human rights in the
context of demonstrations in the aftermath of elections). In addition, OHCHR
staff were deployed to Mali to assist the
International Commission of Inquiry on
Mali and to South Sudan to assist the UN
Commission on Human Rights in South
Sudan. In total, the Office deployed
34 human rights and support staff, 15
of whom were from the Internal Rapid
Deployment Roster.
As of 31 December, the Fund had received
a total of US$297,505 in pledges and
contributions to enable these deployments compared to US$108,072 in 2018.
In 2019, the total expenditure of the Fund
amounted to US$405,606 compared to
US$749,745 in 2018.
As of 31 December, the remaining balance of US$213,145 was significantly
below the target of maintaining a reserve
of US$1 million at all times, thus undermining the capacity of UN Human Rights to
implement rapid response deployments.
Special Fund for the
Participation of Civil
Society in the Social
Forum, the Forum
on Minority Issues
and the Forum on
Business and Human
Rights
The Special Fund for the Participation
of Civil Society in the Social Forum, the
Forum on Minority Issues and the Forum
on Business and Human Rights was
established by HRC decision 24/118 of
27 September 2013. The aim of the Fund
is to facilitate the broadest possible participation of civil society representatives
and other relevant stakeholders in the
annual meetings of the three forums.
In 2019, the Special Fund received
US$50,000 in new contributions.
From 28-29 November, the UN Forum on
Minority Issues held its twelfth session
on “Education, language and the human
rights of minorities” for more than 500
representatives from States, international and regional organizations, civil
society and other relevant stakeholders.
Invited expert panellists representing
the world’s five regions shared their
expertise and experiences regarding
the recognition, promotion of education
in and teaching of minority languages
and legislative and policy initiatives, with
a particular focus on minority women
and girls.
UN Human Rights organized the Eighth
Annual Forum on Business and Human
Rights, the largest annual gathering on
business and human rights, in Geneva,
from 25-27 November. It was chaired
by the Working Group on the issue of
128 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2019
human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
The Forum brought together approximately 2,500 participants from more
than 130 countries, including representatives from governments, UN bodies,
CSOs, NHRIs, trade unions, academia
and the media. It also achieved the highest level of private sector participation
to date, at over 30 per cent, equalling
the representation of civil society for
the first time. The three-day programme
offered more than 60 thematic sessions
on current and emerging business-related human rights issues under the
title “Time to act: Governments as catalysts for business respect for human
rights.” States and business were urged
to implement the “Protect, Respect and
Remedy” Framework of the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human
Rights. Following the Forum, the Working
Group and the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights defenders and
several NGOs issued a joint statement to
protect defenders who speak up about
the impact of business on people and
the planet.
SPECIAL FUND FOR THE
PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL
SOCIETY IN THE SOCIAL FORUM,
THE FORUM ON MINORITY
ISSUES AND THE FORUM ON
BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS AND
EXPENDITURE IN 2019
Donor
US$
Russian Federation
50,000
TOTAL
50,000
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