A/HRC/39/20 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 14 August 2018 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-ninth session 10–28 September 2018 Agenda items 2 and 8 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights Report of the Secretary-General*, ** Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/15, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of that resolution at its thirty-ninth session. It covers the period from September 2017 to August 2018. The report contains information on the activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to establish and strengthen national human rights institutions; on support provided by the United Nations Development Programme and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to national human rights institutions; on cooperation between institutions and the international human rights system; and on support provided by OHCHR to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and relevant regional networks. It should be read in conjunction with the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (A/HRC/39/21). * The present report was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect the most recent information. ** The annexes to the present report are circulated as received, in the language of submission only. GE.18-13493(E) 