A/HRC/7/66 page 11 administration at all levels; (c) protects human rights and fundamental freedoms; and (d) establishes effective legal mechanisms for addressing violations of those rights. III. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS A. The Human Rights and Rule of Law Section of the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone 34. The mandate of UNIOSIL in the area of human rights and rule of law is: to assist the Government in (a) establishing the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone; (b) developing a national plan of action for human rights; and (c) strengthening the rule of law, including by promoting the independence of the judiciary and enhancing the capacity of the police and penal systems. The UNIOSIL Human Rights and Rule of Law Section is composed of 25 staff members, including 6 international, 5 United Nations Volunteers, and 14 national staff. In addition, OHCHR provided 12 national staff posts so as to facilitate national coverage of Section activities. 35. OHCHR, in its biannual budget for 2006-2007 also allocated $410,000 to facilitate the implementation of Section activities. This support, combined with that from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, enabled the Section to carry out the human rights mandate of UNIOSIL and implement technical assistance programmes of OHCHR in Sierra Leone. 36. The Section worked in close collaboration with the United Nations country team, the Government, civil society and international partners using existing national frameworks, including the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Peace Consolidation Strategy developed jointly by the United Nations, the Government and civil society. The Section also worked closely with other sections of UNIOSIL, including Peace and Governance, United Nations police, Public Information and the Military. Additionally, the Section implemented a number of OHCHR and UNDP-funded projects, including the construction of human rights and law reference libraries; the dissemination of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and awareness-raising activities on its findings and recommendations; the Action 2 programme for building the capacity of the United Nations country team on a rights-based approach; and the Assisting Communities Together projects. B. Monitoring of the 2007 parliamentary and presidential elections 37. During the 2007 parliamentary and presidential elections, the Section monitored the extent to which human rights and fundamental freedoms were respected and the rule of law upheld. It was noted that the overall process, including demarcation of constituencies, voter registration, campaign and voting, were consistent with the Constitution and laws of Sierra Leone and with minimum international human rights standards. 38. Voting was conducted throughout the country generally in a peaceful atmosphere without violence, except for some minor and isolated cases in which the Sierra Leone Police quickly intervened and restored calm without violence. The Section noted, however, that while freedom of assembly, association and expression was generally respected during the campaign period, there were a number of isolated cases of intimidation, harassment, destruction of property and