A/HRC/7/74 page 3 Introduction 1. The Secretary-General has submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and subsequently the Human Rights Council an annual report on technical cooperation in the field of human rights, reflecting the discussions of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (VFTC). Based on Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/81 and the subsequent analytical report2 on the progress and concrete achievements made, as well as obstacles encountered in the implementation of the programme of advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights and on the operation and administration of the Voluntary Fund, the Human Rights Council in its decision 2/102 requested the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue with the fulfilment of their activities, in accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights, and to update the relevant reports and studies. The present report is submitted in this context as an update of previous reports,3 focusing on the work of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. I. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VOLUNTARY FUND FOR TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2. Members of the Board of Trustees are appointed by the Secretary-General to advise the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on streamlining and rationalizing the working methods and procedures of the Technical Cooperation Programme. Current members are Mary Chinery-Hesse (Ghana), chairperson; William A. Schabas (Canada), acting chairperson for the last session; Viacheslav Bakhmin (Russia); and Monica Pinto (Argentina). A fifth member, Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand), resigned just before the last session of the Board of Trustees due to the newly adopted rule of non-accumulation of mandates, as he currently also serves as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The process of identification of a new member has been initiated. 3. In recent years, the Board has moved away from detailed revision of individual projects to advising OHCHR on policy orientation, global vision and strategy at a broader programme level. The evolution of the role played by the Board is appreciated by OHCHR, which benefits greatly from the experience and wisdom of the Board, particularly in relation to the ongoing reform within the United Nations and OHCHR and the strengthened country engagement of OHCHR. 2 E/CN.4/2006/104. 3 Ibid. and A/HRC/4/94.