A/HRC/34/74 A. Forty-third session (Guatemala) 10. In accordance with the Board’s practice of holding one of its two meetings each year in a State where OHCHR has a field presence, the forty-third session was held in Guatemala. The main purpose of the visit, as in the case of previous visits to the field, was to gather in situ observations of the role and added value of OHCHR on the ground and to increase its understanding of the type of technical cooperation that OHCHR provides, and to give relevant guidance. The Board took the opportunity of the visit to Guatemala to meet in person with the OHCHR regional representative for Central America based in Panama City and the Deputy Director of the OHCHR country office in Colombia and, by videoconference, with the OHCHR representative for South America, based in Santiago, the OHCHR representatives for the country offices in Honduras and the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the Human Rights Advisers in Paraguay and Jamaica. 11. The holding of the session in Guatemala provided the Board with an excellent opportunity to observe first-hand the type of technical cooperation that OHCHR is best placed to offer, starting with and based upon its monitoring role. Using its technical expertise and close interactions with actors on the ground, the Office gathers evidencebased information and credible, validated data on the human rights situation and challenges. It subsequently designs appropriate responses and suggests programmes to key partners on the basis of that information. The work of the Office in ensuring the integration of all rights, including civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, is very effective. It strives to address the most serious human rights issues, including the most complex. The Board has observed interaction with partners in several of its previous field visits, particularly in Cambodia. The Board learned of the interaction made possible in Colombia during discussions with the representative of the Country Office in Colombia. The approach taken in Guatemala and in other country offices should be more widely known; the lessons learned from their experience should be applied in the establishment and strengthening of the work in all country offices. 12. In Guatemala, the Board held discussions with the staff members of the country office and with various national authorities, including the Ombudsman (Procurador de los Derechos Humanos), the Presidential Commission on Human Rights, the Attorney General, the President of the Supreme Court, the President of the Constitutional Court, and with United Nations partners and civil society bodies, including indigenous and Afrodescendent organizations. The discussions focused on the OHCHR programme in the country, its relevance and its impact. The Board also visited Rabinal in Baja Verapaz, and met with the Chixoy representatives. 13. The visit to Guatemala once again demonstrated that, when the Office is given the opportunity to use strategically the full mandate of the High Commissioner to support to the country’s human rights efforts, the results are tangible and sustainable, and the Office is accepted as a key, reliable partner. The Board has already expressed this view to the Human Rights Council, and will continue to provide examples in its annual reports and presentations so as to ensure a better understanding of the type of technical cooperation that the Office is best placed to offer and provide. The value of the work of the Guatemala office was emphasized by all counterparts in country, including State institutions, civil society and members of the United Nations and the international community with whom the Board met. 14. The physical presence of its Office in Guatemala has enabled OHCHR to add the value of its unique mandate and to engage actively with all partners in the country. The added value is particularly evident in the space provided by the Office to human rights defenders, journalists and the victims of human rights violations. The Board met with many representatives of these groups, including indigenous peoples (in particular the women 5