A/HRC/41/42 1. United Nations trust fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women 86. The United Nations trust fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/166, in which the Assembly requested the United Nations Development Fund for Women, in undertaking any relevant activities, to cooperate closely with the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women. 87. The resolution provides a clear link between the trust fund and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, and in that context in April 2017, the Special Rapporteur initiated contact with UN-Women, in its capacity as administrator of the trust fund, to explore ways and means of cooperation between both entities. Given the scope of the mandate, including its task to seek and receive information on violence against women from other specialized agencies, and to respond effectively to such information and to recommend measures,33 the Special Rapporteur sought collaboration as envisaged in the founding resolution of the trust fund. The Special Rapporteur regrets that, to date, no effort has been made on behalf of the trust fund to engage with her mandate, despite the specific request by the General Assembly in its resolution 50/166 that it do so. In 2017, the Special Rapporteur sent a follow-up letter reiterating her interest in collaboration and also requested full information about the working methods of the trust fund and its oversight board, composed of United Nations agencies and two NGOs. A response has not been received to that letter. At present, the trust fund takes its decisions on annual working priorities, including calls for applications from NGOs, without any form of consultation or cooperation with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. According to the trust fund website, 31 NGOs in 25 countries and territories were awarded a total amount of $11 million in 2017. 2. Mandate collaboration with the Commission on the Status of Women, UN-Women and OHCHR 88. In its resolution 1994/45, along with all those that followed relating to the mandate, the Commission on Human Rights highlighted cooperation with the Commission on the Status of Women as a key component of its work. Since 2008, the mandate holder has presented an oral report to the Commission on the Status of Women, but has had no opportunity for an interactive dialogue with States parties. Moreover, in its resolution 7/24, the Human Rights Council called upon the Secretary-General to ensure that the reports of the Special Rapporteur are brought to the attention of Commission to assist in its work on violence against women. While the thematic reports of the Special Rapporteur are shared with UN-Women, they are only available temporarily on the session webpage of the Commission and are neither referred to in the Commission session report nor mentioned during its deliberations. 89. Previously, the President of the Commission on Human Rights would address the Commission on an annual basis, and vice versa. However, after the creation of the Human Rights Council in 2006, much of that cooperation between the two entities was lost. While the establishment of UN-Women has brought many positive changes, it has not contributed to a strengthening of links with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and reports and recommendations of the mandate are not visible on the UN-Women website. 90. In her oral statements to the Commission in 2017 34 and 2018, 35 the Special Rapporteur called for a stronger focus on violence against women, including through: (a) the initiation of a fifth United Nations World Conference on Women; (b) the elaboration of a global implementation plan on violence against women; and (c) the inclusion of violence against women as a standing agenda item of the Commission as a means of establishing a 33 34 35 See Human Rights Council resolution 16/7, para. 3 (c). See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21382&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23041&LangID=E. 17