A/HRC/16/31 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 14 February 2011 Original: English Human Rights Council Sixteenth session Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Operations of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture Note by the Secretary-General* I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present note was prepared in accordance with the arrangements approved by the Human Rights Council in its decision 2/102. It presents updated information on the activities of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and in particular on the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund at its thirty-third session, held in Geneva from 18 to 22 October 2010. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights approved the recommendations on behalf of the Secretary-General. The present note will be complemented by the report of the SecretaryGeneral on the activities of the Fund, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its sixtysixth session, detailing the outcomes of the thirty-third and thirty-fourth sessions of the Board of Trustees. B. Mandate of the Fund 2. The Fund receives voluntary contributions from Governments, non-governmental organizations and private sources, including individuals. In accordance with the practice established by its Board of Trustees in 1982, the Fund provides grants to non-governmental organizations and other channels of assistance that submit projects involving medical, psychological, social, financial, legal and humanitarian or other forms of assistance to torture victims and their relatives. * GE.11-10713 Late submission.