A/HRC/43/68 and follow-up was also noted during the discussions in both South Africa and Mozambique, and the Office is supporting both States in their identification of the most appropriate mechanism. 26. The Board was pleased to note the positive impacts achieved through the placement of expert staff at the Regional Office under the OHCHR treaty body capacity-building programme, as mandated in General Assembly resolution 68/268. Pursuant to the dedicated technical assistance extended, eight countries, namely, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe, all of which had more than six overdue reports at the outset of 2016, re-engaged with the treaty bodies and began tackling their backlogs. They advanced or institutionalized their engagement with all human rights mechanisms through the creation of standing governmental coordination structures, known as national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up, in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa and Zambia. Some 12 outstanding reports were submitted to the treaty bodies, and a number of additional human rights treaties were ratified. 27. At its sessions, the partnerships with national human rights institutions are always one of the focus areas of the engagement by the Board with national counterparts. At its meeting with the South African Human Rights Commission, the Board was provided with a briefing about the programmes in place and the cooperation from and support provided by OHCHR. The role that OHCHR plays as a bridge-builder with national human rights institutions was particularly stressed. That important role has also been emphasized in all the meetings that the Board has held in other regions. 28. The Board was provided with a briefing on the ongoing efforts by OHCHR to better equip teams on the ground with specialized expertise and capacity to step up support to United Nations resident coordinators and United Nations country teams in the context of the new United Nations sustainable development cooperation frameworks. The proposal to incorporate economic and social rights experts into the overall human rights programme at the regional level will bolster the expertise of the Office to meet that new and critical demand. The interrelatedness and interconnectedness between economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights must be better understood within the United Nations, and OHCHR is well placed to develop that understanding. The Board would like to commend the Office for its efforts in that area of work. 29. The United Nations agencies and programmes in South Africa stressed that the relevant technical capacity and advisory services that the Regional Office provided were critical to ensuring a rights-based perspective in the work of the United Nations on the ground. OHCHR has, for example, worked closely with the United Nations team in South Africa in developing a joint proposal under the Sustainable Development Goals Fund, together with the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The joint programme will support the development and strengthening of a comprehensive, inclusive, integrated and universal system of social protection in South Africa that leaves no one behind. OHCHR will work closely with the agencies and programmes involved on the integration of human rights into the implementation of the joint programme. That includes analysis and advocacy in relation to leaving no one behind, consultations with rights holders and linkages to the implementation of the relevant recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms. 30. The Board has been particularly pleased to see the strategic direction of OHCHR in its engagement with Mozambique from the Regional Office for Southern Africa in Pretoria, in particular how the understanding of the key support that OHCHR can provide expands when it comes closer to the realities on the ground. The United Nations partners on the ground informed the Board about the work of the team in Mozambique and its ability to provide essential support in the aftermath of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. The Board discussed the relevance of the programmes of the Office, including supporting the Government in its protection efforts, operationalizing a protection strategy, providing guidance to humanitarian responses and the affected population on relevant legal standards, supporting the engagement with the justice system and assisting the humanitarian 7