A/HRC/34/16 I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present report was prepared in accordance with General Assembly resolution 70/146, in which the Assembly encouraged contributions to the Special Fund established by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Human Rights Council on the operations of the Fund. The report covers the activities of the Special Fund undertaken from 1 January to 8 December 2016. B. Mandate of the Special Fund 2. The Special Fund was established pursuant to article 26 of the Optional Protocol to help to finance the implementation of the recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment following a visit to a State party to the Optional Protocol, and to finance education programmes of national preventive mechanisms. 3. The Special Fund receives voluntary earmarked contributions from Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other private or public entities. C. Management of the Special Fund 4. The Special Fund is administered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations. D. Eligibility criteria 5. Applications to the Special Fund may be submitted by State institutions of States parties to the Optional Protocol that have been visited by the Subcommittee and their national preventive mechanisms that have agreed to the publication of the Subcommittee’s report. Applications may also be submitted by national human rights institutions that are compliant with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and by non-governmental organizations if the proposed projects are to be implemented in cooperation with eligible States parties and/or national preventive mechanisms. Only applications relating to recommendations contained in reports of visits by the Subcommittee that have been published in accordance with article 16 (2) of the Optional Protocol, and hence are no longer confidential, may be considered. II. Activities of the Special Fund A. 2016 and 2017 project cycles 6. The fifth call for applications to the Special Fund, for grants for projects to be implemented in 2016, closed on 16 October 2015. Projects concerning 16 eligible States 2