A/HRC/37/20 I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present report, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/146, complements the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on the activities of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (A/72/278). It contains updated information on the activities of the Fund, in particular the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund at its forty-sixth session, held in Geneva from 30 October to 3 November 2017. B. Mandate of the Fund 2. The Fund receives voluntary contributions from Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals. In accordance with the mandate of the Fund outlined in General Assembly resolution 36/151 and the practices established by the Board of Trustees since 1982, the Fund provides grants to established channels of assistance, in particular NGOs, associations of victims and of family members of victims, private and public hospitals, legal clinics and public interest law firms that submit project proposals aimed at the provision of medical, psychological, social, financial, legal, humanitarian or other forms of direct assistance to victims of torture and members of their families. C. Administration of the Fund and composition of the Board of Trustees 3. The Secretary-General administers the Fund through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with the advice of a Board of Trustees composed of five members acting in their personal capacity and appointed by the Secretary-General with due regard to equitable geographical distribution and in consultation with their Governments. On 26 September 2017, the Secretary-General appointed Sara Hossain (Bangladesh), Lawrence Murugu Mute (Kenya) and Vivienne Nathanson (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) to replace Anastasia Pinto (India) and Maria Cristina Nunes de Mendonça (Portugal), whose mandates ended on 21 October 2017, and Morad el-Shazly (Egypt), who had resigned earlier in the year. The mandates of Mikołaj Pietrzak (Poland) and the Chair of the Board, Gaby Oré Aguilar (Peru), were renewed. II. Management of grants A. Admissibility criteria 4. Project admissibility criteria are outlined in the guidelines of the Fund. The guidelines require a project proposal to be presented by an established channel of assistance, in particular NGOs, associations of victims and of family members of victims, private and public hospitals, legal clinics and public interest law firms. The beneficiaries must be victims of torture and/or their family members. Priority is given to projects providing direct assistance to torture victims, which may consist of medical or psychological assistance, help with social or financial reintegration as well as various forms of legal assistance for victims or members of their families, including support in seeking redress or applying for asylum. As a general rule, projects are supported on a yearly basis for a maximum of 10 years, subject to a satisfactory evaluation of the project and availability of funds. 5. Depending on the availability of funds, the Fund also supports projects seeking to organize training or capacity-building activities for health-care personnel or other service providers, with priority given to applicant organizations that have already received a grant from the Fund. These projects may take the form of training sessions, including peer-to- 2