A/HRC/16/20 I. Introduction 1. The present report provides an update of the activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since its reports in 2010 to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/13/26) and to the General Assembly (A/65/36). It focuses on implementation of the six thematic priorities established by the Office for 2010/11. 2. In 2010, I conducted missions to: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates; the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Mexico; the Central African Republic; Iceland; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Sweden, as well as Uganda. The Deputy High Commissioner visited Kenya and Somalia; Kyrgyzstan; Mexico and Panama; as well as Cambodia and Thailand. These were important opportunities for engagement with member States and other stakeholders to discuss human rights issues and promote progress towards improving the human rights situation including in the areas of OHCHR strategic priorities. 3. In December 2010, OHCHR was running and supporting 56 field presences: 12 regional presences,1 of which 5 have gender advisers,2 12 offices at the country level3, 15 human rights components in United Nations peace missions,4 and 17 human rights advisers within United Nations country teams5. In May 2010, I signed an agreement with the Government of Guinea to establish an OHCHR country office which was officially inaugurated in August 2010 and is now fully operational. In December 2010, the OHCHR country office in Mauritania started functioning. 4. Field presences are key to refining our strategic priorities and implementing them on the ground. Trends and practices that we observe at the national or regional level assist in identifying needs and developing tools, policies and guidance to provide technical support to Governments, national institutions, civil society, regional organizations and the United Nations system. 1 2 3 4 5 Regional presences included the OHCHR Regional Offices for: Southern Africa (Pretoria); East Africa (Addis Ababa); West Africa (Dakar); Southeast Asia (Bangkok); the Pacific (Suva); the Middle East (Beirut); Central Asia (Bishkek); Europe (Brussels); Central America (Panama City) and Latin America (Santiago), as well as the United Nations Sub-Regional Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (Yaoundé) and the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region (Doha). West Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, Central America and Central Africa. Another gender advisor is based in the OHCHR New York Office. OHCHR Country Offices in: Togo, Uganda, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Cambodia, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico and Nepal, as well as two stand-alone presences, in the Kosovo and Occupied Palestinian Territory. BINUB (Burundi), BONUCA (Central African Republic), MINURCAT (Chad and the Central African Republic – to be terminated on 31 December 2010), MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of the Congo), UNMIS and UNAMID (the Sudan), UNMIL (Liberia), UNIOSIL (Sierra Leone), UNPOS (Somalia), UNOCI (Côte d’Ivoire), UNOGBIS (Guinea-Bissau), UNAMA (Afghanistan), UNMIT (Timor-Leste); UNAMI (Iraq); MINUSTAH (Haiti), UNOWA (West Africa). In addition, OHCHR works in close cooperation with the Human Rights Officer of the UNRCCA based in Tajikistan. The Great Lakes Region of Africa (Bujumbura, Burundi), Ecuador, Georgia (covering the Southern Caucasus), Guinea, Kenya, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Nicaragua (to be terminated on 31 December 2010), Niger, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Serbia, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. 3