A/HRC/43/37
particular, A/HRC/18/24, A/HRC/30/20 and A/HRC/39/24). It is therefore important to
stress the need to improve accessibility to the Council for both entities and make sure that
they are consulted when country situations and general themes are discussed. OHCHR has
a pivotal role to play in organizing awareness-raising activities for civil society
organizations, especially in countries in which access to communication tools is limited.
Training activities on writing reports and communications are also very important. Civil
society organizations and human rights defenders that cooperate with the Council’s
mechanisms should be protected from reprisals. They should be made aware and
encouraged to report reprisals to OHCHR13 so that their cases are reflected in the SecretaryGeneral’s annual reports to the Council on intimidation and reprisals for cooperation with
the United Nations in the field of human rights.14 Those reports should also be
communicated to the General Assembly for more visibility.
D.
Mobilization of financial resources
53.
In its resolution 38/18, the Council requests that due consideration be given to the
availability in the United Nations system of financial resources for human rights promotion,
and for prevention, in particular. A review of the recommendations of the Council’s
mechanisms reveals that many of them are related to the mandates of the various United
Nations entities. Such recommendations should therefore be considered at the inter-agency
level, with a view to better coordinate actions and have greater access to dedicated funding
across the United Nations system. Such consideration could begin at the field level.
54.
In addition, there is a need for the allocation of increased resources for coordination
of prevention efforts, including through recourse to the trust funds operated by various
United Nations bodies, such as the Peacebuilding Fund. The latter constitutes an instrument
for greater integration of the recommendations of the Council’s mechanisms in
peacebuilding strategies. Following the Secretary-General’s call for a “quantum leap”
(A/72/707-S/2018/43, para. 47), the Peacebuilding Fund has engaged in a review of its
strategy for 2020–2022 and is willing to engage further on human rights matters. Currently,
the Fund is focusing on at least seven areas of work in which the expertise and
recommendations of the Council’s mechanisms are of particular use.15 The Fund requires its
recipients to provide them with conflict analyses and needs assessments as the basis for any
project proposal. OHCHR should make sure that the views and recommendations of the
Council’s mechanisms are taken into account in such country documents.
55.
In addition, there is a need to enhance the OHCHR voluntary fund for financial and
technical assistance in the implementation of the universal periodic review, as well as the
Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. United Nations
bodies could also advise States on the possibilities of securing funding from sources outside
the United Nations, including bilateral sources.
V. Main conclusions
A.
Need for prevention strategies
56.
The various Council mechanisms are generally perceived as contributing by
their very nature to the prevention of human rights violations. Although examples of
the preventive impact of these mechanisms were acknowledged during the
consultations, discussions also highlighted the lack of an explicit prevention strategy
13
14
15
12
In 2016, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights was designated to lead United Nations
efforts to end intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the United Nations on human
rights.
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 12/2.
Support for the drafting of constitutional frameworks; strengthening of capacity of and access to law
enforcement officers; support for transitional justice mechanisms; support for human rights education
and training, especially of security forces; support for monitoring and protection of human rights;
support for the protection of victims; and support for national reconciliation and dialogue processes.
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