A/HRC/16/66 of discrimination and migration as a priority. The Office is working closely with the Council of Europe on adequate housing, education and migration, and child trafficking. The Board was pleased to note that economic, social and cultural rights were being addressed in the region. E. Americas region 41. The Board was updated on field presences, projects, activities, strategies, partners and regional priorities within the context of technical cooperation in the Americas, as funded by the Voluntary Fund. The Americas region is generally characterized by stable democracies, solid legal frameworks, good NHRIs, organized civil society, and a high level of ratification and therefore presents a number of opportunities to engage with OHCHR in specific areas of human rights. In this context, the Board was informed that the challenges were mainly inequality and lack of access to economic social and cultural rights, discrimination against indigenous peoples and minorities, administration of justice, the fight against impunity and public security. It was informed about a regional consultation with Heads of Field Presences and experts that took place in Panama in August 2010 to assess the human rights and political situation in the region. During the consultation, the participants agreed that the priorities established in the 2010-2011 Strategic Management Plan were still valid, with a focus on the issues of public security and Indigenous peoples. 42. The Board was pleased to learn that the deployment of Human Rights Advisers in Paraguay and Honduras had been completed and that the regional office in Santiago, Chile, is operational. OHCHR has been working to review legislation in the Plurinational State of Bolivia by addressing the anti-discrimination law and providing support to the Government on a human rights-based approach in policy planning and in developing the Human Rights Plan of Action in Nicaragua and Ecuador. The Board also learned of the challenges faced by the Office in strengthening human rights protection mechanisms and the national institutions. 43. The Board was pleased to note the work in support of administration of justice in Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama and the issuance of an amicus curiae3 in Guatemala in setting jurisprudence on empowering rights holders to participate in public policy. The earthquake crisis in Haiti, during which the Human Rights Section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) suffered fatalities, placed enormous stress on the implementation of technical cooperation activities by the human rights component of United Nations peace missions in Haiti and had a significant impact on the capacity of the Office to manage the Protection Cluster. The Board acknowledged the challenges faced and welcomed achievements realized. 44. The Board was briefed on possible activities for the coming year to engage more with the English-speaking Caribbean in order to increase the level of ratification of international instruments in these countries, improve reporting status, increase open invitations to special procedures and enhance knowledge of the UPR mechanism. It was informed of the conditions of the NHRIs and the state of the justice systems; it advised that the challenge would be to find the best strategy for impact in strengthening national institutions through international standards reinforcing the accountability mechanisms. The Board acknowledged the important efforts conducted in the region in establishing relations with Governments and local authorities. In the Mexico Office, under the monitoring 3 10 On 25 August 2008, OHCHR presented an amicus curiae brief to the Constitutional Court of Guatemala in the case against a former military commissioner for the forced disappearance of a number of residents of the Choatulum village between 1981 and 1984.