A/HRC/34/74 beneficiaries of the Maya programme, the Office’s strategic litigation programme), who many times expressed their appreciation for the capacity-building and accompanying role that the Office provides them in the defence of their rights. OHCHR legal literacy training programmes have resulted in them being able to promote and protect their own rights more effectively. The Maya programme of strategic litigation is a unique example of the programmes offered by the Office with landmark results, also in legislative reform and State policy and practice. 15. The Board was particularly pleased with the interactions of the OHCHR Guatemala Office with duty-bearers in all sectors, and in particular with the justice system. The information gathered at the meetings held with the Presidents of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Justice, the Ombudsman, the Attorney General and the President of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights highlighted how closely the Office was working with them and the tangible results attained in legal and constitutional reforms promoting human rights. In recent years, the Office has managed skilfully and effectively to maintain a delicate balance between advocacy on sensitive human rights issues, including in regard to transitional justice matters, and good, influential relations with the authorities. The cooperation and trust that the Office has managed to nurture with the Ombudsman and the courts have played a key role in ensuring, in difficult times, the persistence and coherence of messages, in full conformity with the State’s international obligations. As a result of these strategic initiatives and proactive, constructive engagement, the Office today enjoys a high degree of credibility and trust among all partners and human rights defenders and victims. 16. The Office plays an important convening role and provides a trusted space for dialogue, by also creating channels of participation. This was particularly expressed by the indigenous community leaders with whom the Board met. The issue of participation and the need for improving it is a key one in the work of the Office, in particular in a context where participation often seems reduced to the right to prior consultation. In view of the trust gained from all actors, the Office also plays a critical role as facilitator of participation. 17. One of the greatest achievements of the Office in Guatemala is precisely its support for victims, in particularly but not only through the Maya programme, and also for State capacity-building efforts for the protection of human rights. This is an important area of work for OHCHR. The programme has been the subject of several audits and evaluations, which have endorsed its relevance and effectiveness. Indeed, the Board believes that the achievements of the Maya programme have been made possible by the overall work of the Office in a number of fields. In this context, it is convinced that OHCHR as a whole and its field presences generally would benefit from incorporating the experience of the Guatemala Office into its core work components, as an integral part of its key technical cooperation toolbox. The programme has in fact probably been the best practical demonstration of what is often referred to as the “theory of change”. 18. The Board particularly welcomes the priority that the Country Office has afforded to the human rights issues of indigenous peoples in Guatemala, and how it has built on the recommendations made by human rights mechanisms and the special procedures following their country visits. The Board observed first-hand the partnership with indigenous representatives and found the Office’s programmes and priorities appropriate and necessary. In addition, the Board was informed on the human rights issues that the population of Afrodescendants face, and considered that it was now timely and appropriate to accord higher priority to their situation, especially in the context of the International Decade for People of African Descent. The composition of the Office reflects the variety of Guatemalan society, an element that certainly plays an important role in the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of its programmes. 6