A/HRC/41/25 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 29 April 2019 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-first session 24 June–12 July 2019 Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Implementation and enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report is prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 38/3, adopted on 5 July 2018. Taking into account the opportunities for advancing human rights provided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the reform process of the United Nations, in the report the universal periodic review is considered as a key entry point for integrating human rights into development efforts while enhancing cooperative endeavours at the national level by Member States, the United Nations and the wider international community on the implementation of recommendations from all human rights mechanisms. The support provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up, for national human rights action plans and in integrating human rights into the Sustainable Development Goals is reviewed. The role of regional mechanisms and technical cooperation is analysed, as are ways in which assistance by the United Nations system can be better mobilized to meet national needs, including through more effective use of existing official development assistance (ODA), thus reinforcing national human rights protection systems, while enhancing national ownership and the effectiveness of aid. GE.19-06909(E) 