A/HRC/22/32 I. Introduction 1. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 21/21, entitled “Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights”, requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a report to the Council at its twenty-second session on activities undertaken by the Office, other relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and, where applicable, regional organizations to support efforts by States to strengthen their judiciary system and administration of justice. 2. The present report provides an overview of activities undertaken by the following organizations: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Department for Peacekeeping Operations, International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, United Nations Children`s Fund, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Commonwealth Secretariat.1 II. United Nations system A. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 3. At the national level, OHCHR is involved in a large number of activities to promote and protect human rights in the administration of justice, including in policy development, normative guidance and capacity-building activities. In particular, the Office contributes to the development of robust, rule of law-based justice systems by providing ongoing assistance to Member States in human rights capacity-building activities for judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers and law enforcement agencies. Such assistance includes support and needs assessment in the field of human rights, implementation of specific activities, review of relevant legislation and procedures to ensure compliance with international human rights standards and the delivery of practical human rights training programmes. 4. OHCHR plays an important role in providing advice on draft laws to ensure that human rights concerns are fully taken into account and that international human rights law is respected, including in legislation such as criminal codes and codes of criminal procedure. Several OHCHR field presences have devoted special attention to assisting national legislative processes regarding various aspects of the administration of justice in recent years. For instance, in Guatemala, OHCHR provided technical assistance to the General Attorney’s Office in 2011, including with the adoption of internal regulations on strategic investigation and prosecution, particularly in cases related to the internal armed conflict. 5. Other examples include support to the National Congress of Honduras which approved new legislation on judicial governance and careers in 2011. Through the organization of a seminar with international experts, its participation at a plenary Congress 1 A note verbale dated 2 November 2012 was sent to United Nations agencies, departments and funds, as well as regional organizations, requesting contributions to the contents of this report. The report is based on the answers received. 3