A/HRC/41/29 6. In April 2018, the Board of Trustees visited the OHCHR Country Office in Colombia. The visit allowed the Board to observe the type of technical cooperation that an OHCHR country presence could offer based upon the results of its monitoring role. The Board paid attention to the way in which OHCHR facilitated the engagement of a broad range of stakeholders with different human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review, and how it supported the follow-up to the recommendations of those mechanisms. 7. In November 2018, the Board of Trustees visited the OHCHR Regional Office for South America in Santiago, where it held its tenth session. The visit provided an opportunity for the Board to observe in situ the development and implementation of programmes by an OHCHR regional presence. The Board learned how partners greatly relied on the Regional Office’s expertise and advice, for example when strengthening national protection systems. Particularly innovative was the way in which the Regional Office had enhanced engagement with countries in the region through the complementary use of the two Voluntary Funds that the Board oversaw and the treaty body capacitybuilding programme. The Board learned about the activities of the Regional Office in support of States to promote the establishment of permanent national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up, to develop databases for following up on recommendations and to prepare reports to the human rights treaty bodies and the universal periodic review. The Board also learned of activities to promote the inclusion of a human rights-based approach in United Nations country team planning documents, and to link strategic outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks with relevant Sustainable Development Goals and recommendations emanating from the international human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review. The Board also started to discuss ways to enhance technical cooperation around the frontier issues identified in the OHCHR Management Plan for 2018–2021, including regarding the impact of corruption and its dimensions on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. During discussions with State actors and United Nations partners in the region, the Board had the opportunity to analyse how the human rights dimensions of corruption were highlighted in the universal periodic review process, and the areas in which technical cooperation could support States in implementing relevant accepted recommendations to address those challenges. B. Strategic use of the Fund 8. Since its establishment, the universal periodic review mechanism has completed two cycles, in which every State Member of the United Nations has undergone reviews. The third cycle began in May 2017. Member States have shown growing interest in the review process. As a result, the average number of recommendations of the reviews in the third cycle has increased. From the second cycle onwards, a particular focus of the reviews has been the implementation of the accepted recommendations, as stipulated by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 16/21. 9. Taken together with the recommendations of treaty bodies and special procedure mandate holders, recommendations from universal periodic reviews highlight a cross section of the critical human rights gaps at the country level. They point to the areas that need strengthening in order to bolster national human rights institutions and national capacities, foster resilience and create an environment conducive to addressing the root causes of human rights violations and, as such, have a preventive effect. 10. OHCHR has been supporting States in implementing universal periodic review recommendations, in particular through the use of the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance at the request or with the consent of the State. 11. OHCHR has been making every effort to make its follow-up support more proactive, systematic and results-oriented. To that end, it has been engaging with States in their efforts to implement universal periodic review recommendations by providing support directly through its field presences or by ensuring the integration of support in United Nations country team programming on follow-up. 3