A/HRC/28/3 I. Introduction 1. The present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/141, focuses on the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the global level and in the field 1 from December 2013 to November 2014. 2. The new four-year planning cycle (2014-2017) began in 2014. At headquarters and in the field, OHCHR embraced the newly defined thematic priorities guided by resultsbased management. These priorities are strengthening international human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality and countering discrimination; combating impunity and strengthening accountability and the rule of law; integrating human rights into development and in the economic sphere; widening the democratic space; and early warning and protection of human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity. All priorities are cross-cutting and mutually reinforcing. Under the new planning cycle, migration is mainstreamed under the various priorities. 3. During the period under review, my predecessor undertook missions to the Central African Republic, Georgia, Morocco, Nigeria and South Sudan. The Deputy High Commissioner visited Cambodia, Guatemala, the Republic of Moldova and Togo. The Assistant Secretary-General visited Burundi, Iraq and Ukraine. 4. At a time of deepening turmoil worldwide, OHCHR was in great demand: the relentless conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic and spill-over into Iraq; from the conflict in Ukraine to the bloodshed in South Sudan; and, most recently, the spread of Ebola. The period under review has seen a devastating deterioration in human rights. 5. Rising inequality and the political, economic and social exclusion of marginalized groups undermined the dignity and rights of people in many States, and drove much of the unrest and most of the conflicts reported. Economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to development, were affected by austerity policies that disproportionately burden the poor and marginalized, as did corruption; there were failures to prioritize public services, and refusal to recognize people’s right to participate in decisions that shape their lives. Migrants continued to endure profound suffering, with recent events at sea demonstrating a callous disregard for human life and human rights. 6. I must also raise the continued reprisals against those who seek to cooperate with the United Nations in the field of human rights. In the past year, there were multiple examples of Member States and/or their proxies directing personal attacks against special procedures mandate holders, the members of commissions of inquiry, and United Nations human rights officers who report on gaps in human rights protection. 7. During the period under review, OHCHR conducted monitoring missions, issued public reports on human rights developments in various States, and deployed teams to provide advice on human rights responses in crisis situations. OHCHR provided technical assistance to dozens of States in a broad range of issues, spanning its six thematic priorities. 1 As at November 2014, OHCHR supported 67 field presences, comprising 13 country / stand-alone offices, 12 regional offices/centres, the human rights components of 14 United Nations peace missions and 28 human rights advisers, including 10 deployed in June and July 2014 to the United Nations country teams in Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia and to the regional United Nations Development Group teams for Asia-Pacific and Central America. 3