A/HRC/26/51 I. Introduction A. Background 1. The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights, established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1987/83, receives voluntary contributions from Governments, organizations and individuals. The objective of the Fund is to provide financial support for international cooperation aimed at building up and strengthening national and regional institutions and infrastructures that will have long-term impact on improved implementation of international human rights standards. 2. The Board of Trustees has been operational since 1993 and its members are appointed by the Secretary-General for a three-year renewable term. The mandate of the Board is to assist the Secretary-General in streamlining and rationalizing the working methods and procedures of the technical cooperation programme. It meets twice a year and reports on its work to the Secretary-General and the Human Rights Council. Current members are Sozar Subari (Georgia), Fatima Mbaye (Mauritania), Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi (Mexico), Christopher Sidoti (Australia) and Lin Lim (Malaysia). Ms. Lim was appointed to the Board in January 2014, replacing Deepika Udagama (Sri Lanka), who ended her term on 31 December 2013. The Board elected Mr. Sidoti as chairperson from 30 April 2013 until 30 June 2014, when he will be replaced by Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, who was elected chairperson by the Board at its thirty-ninth session, in Mexico City. B. Mandate 3. Throughout the period under review, the Board of Trustees continued to advise the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on policy orientation and strategic vision on technical cooperation at a programme level. This refocused approach, which is framed within the broad definition of technical cooperation, was agreed upon by the Board of Trustees and presented to Member States in the annual report of the Secretary-General submitted to the Human Rights Council in 2011.1 4. The OHCHR planning process for the period 2014-2017 provided several opportunities for the Board Members to offer this advice to OHCHR by contributing to the definition of OHCHR thematic strategies. The Board members participated in the OHCHR regional consultations in Asia, the Americas, Europe and Central Asia, and Africa. They held discussions and provided advice on ways to strengthen the technical cooperation and advisory services programmes while pursuing the implementation of the Office’s four-year programme. 5. In view of the relevance and complementarities of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights and the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance in the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Review, the Secretary-General requested the Board of Trustees to oversee the both Funds. This decision was based on the importance of ensuring consistency in the operations of the Funds, given that both support States in fulfilling their international obligations by means of technical assistance and cooperation. During its thirty-eight session, in November 2013, the Board commenced its new functions with regard to the Voluntary Fund for Financial and 1 A/HRC/16/66. 3