A/HRC/39/20 institutions around the world. In February 2017, the leadership of the three partners signed a letter of intent formalizing their commitment to enhancing their cooperation. In June 2018, during the meeting to review their tripartite partnership, the partners continued to discuss areas of strategic priority and engagement, including a common understanding of their own role and that of national human rights institutions in the context of the 2030 Agenda, particularly Goal 16. 49. In September 2017, UNDP, the Commission of the African Union and the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions organized a forum on the nexus between strong human rights institutions and national development. During the period under review, UNDP also supported the establishment of a national human rights institution in Botswana and in the Gambia. In Sierra Leone, UNDP provided technical expertise to the national human rights institution to monitor the elections and supported the development of a tool to monitor the implementation of universal periodic review and treaty body recommendations. In Zimbabwe, UNDP provided technical and advisory support to the Human Rights Commission to develop a strategy to monitor human rights in the electoral cycle, to design a campaign on the right to vote and to develop an electronic system to handle complaints. It also provided advice to the Commission on how to conduct visits to prisons, mental health institutions, and care homes for seniors and children. 50. In the Asia-Pacific region, UNDP and the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions continued to implement projects on the protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons for the national human rights institutions of Bangladesh, Fiji, the Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. In April 2018, UNDP and the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal jointly organized a conference for national human rights institutions in South Asia on addressing impunity and realizing human rights. In the Philippines, UNDP supported the Commission on Human Rights to advocate for the adoption of a bill to address all forms of discrimination and violence based on ethnicity, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, language, disability, HIV status and educational attainment. In Sri Lanka, UNDP signed a letter of agreement with the Human Rights Commission with a view to strengthening its capacity. 51. In Europe and Central Asia, UNDP supported the national human rights institutions of Armenia and Ukraine to strengthen their capacity. UNDP and the European Union provided support to the Public Defender of Georgia to host the International Conference on Business and Human Rights in December 2017. UNDP and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions cooperated on a number of regional initiatives with the national human rights institutions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. IV. Cooperation between United Nations human rights mechanisms and national human rights institutions 52. Some national human rights institutions monitored the implementation of recommendations and observations formulated by the international human rights system. As independent bodies with a mandate to advise the authorities, they linked these recommendations to policymakers, especially Governments and parliaments. In addition, many national human rights institutions served as a bridge between the State and civil society, promoting broad-based participation in shaping policies and implementing recommendations from the international human rights system. 53. In May 2018, OHCHR, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation organized a one-week training course for 13 staff members of national human rights institutions with A status to better engage with the international human rights system. 9