A/HRC/34/3
I.
Introduction
1.
The present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/141,
gives an overview of the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) at headquarters in Geneva and New York and through its country
and regional human rights presences, from 1 December 2015 to 30 November 2016. The
report follows the OHCHR thematic priorities set out in the Office Management Plan for
2014-2017.
2.
As at 1 November 2016, OHCHR supported 60 field presences consisting of 15
country or stand-alone offices, including a new office in Honduras; 12 regional
offices/centres; human rights components in 14 peace missions; and 19 Human Rights
Advisers in United Nations country teams. While there is increased demand for Human
Rights Advisers, funds are insufficient, challenging both existing deployments and the
ability to respond to new requests. Consequently, in 2016, the posts of Human Rights
Adviser in Bangladesh, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia and the regional
Human Rights Advisers for Asia and the Pacific and for Latin America and the Caribbean
were discontinued. The maintenance of a further nine Human Rights Advisers will be
reconsidered during 2017, should funds become available. OHCHR will continue working
with the United Nations Development Group to seek sustainable funding for this valuable
form of human rights presence.
3.
During the period under review, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights visited Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
France, Germany, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of
America. The Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visited
Albania, Austria, Denmark, Ecuador, Honduras, Iraq, Turkey (on the occasion of the World
Humanitarian Summit) and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Myanmar and Sri Lanka
as part of a delegation headed by the Secretary-General. The former Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Human Rights visited Austria, Ethiopia (to attend the African Union Summit),
Guyana, the Republic of Moldova, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States, as well as
Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan as part of a delegation
headed by the Secretary-General. His successor, who took up his functions on 1 October
2016, also visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
4.
The reporting period was one of significant and protracted crises. Civilian casualties
in conflicts reached alarming levels, while deaths and suffering from large-scale
movements of people continued to rise. During the reporting period, the death toll from
attempted migration across the Mediterranean Sea surpassed that of previous years, despite
fewer overall arrivals in Europe. Political discourse around many of these human tragedies,
relating in particular to migrants, has become more and more tainted by intolerance,
xenophobia and prejudice, while basic human rights principles are being questioned. At the
World Humanitarian Summit in May, OHCHR promoted the importance of both
international human rights law as well as international humanitarian law in humanitarian
action and made 32 commitments to enhance its engagement in humanitarian action.
5.
An overarching priority for OHCHR is to support country-level implementation of
international obligations and recommendations emanating from human rights mechanisms.
Throughout the reporting period, OHCHR continued to work with Governments, national
human rights institutions, civil society and United Nations country teams to develop
common human rights strategies and better align development plans with human rights
recommendations. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has
reinforced the intrinsic connection between human rights and development. Throughout the
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