A/HRC/25/25 IV. Thirty-eighth session of the Board of Trustees 12. The thirty-eighth session of the Board was held in Geneva from 30 September to 4 October 2013. The Board examined applications for funding and made recommendations on grants to be allotted to beneficiary organizations for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014. 13. The amount available for distribution to projects was calculated after deducting programme support costs, the operating cash reserve and the expenditure for non-grant activities from the total amount of contributions received after the thirty-sixth session of the Board, which had been held in October 2012. 14. The Board of Trustees considered a total number of 288 admissible project proposals that were aimed at providing direct assistance to victims of torture and their family members, amounting to $14,968,878. 15. The Board reviewed positively a total of 263 projects in more than 90 countries for a total amount of $6,828,800. Notably, it recommended for a grant 229 ongoing projects aimed at providing direct assistance to victims, for a total amount of $6,223,000; thirty new projects aimed at providing direct assistance to victims, for a total amount of $585,800; and four grants for new training and seminars projects, for a total amount of $20,000. 16. For the third consecutive year, in order to cope with the decreased level of contributions, the Board maintained the caps introduded at its thirty-fifth session held in 2012, in particular the cap of $20,000 for first-time applicants. The Board and the secretariat are cognizant of the need to spread the available resources in a more equitable manner between recently identified projects and long-term beneficiaires. At the thirtyeighth session, measures were introduced to incrementally decrease support to projects that have received support in a consecutive manner for a significant period of time. 17. The Board also recommended setting aside an additional $150,000 for emergency grants to be considered in the course of 2014 through its intersessional procedure. Due to the funding shortage, this is half of the amount earmarked in the previous year for that purpose. 18. The Board recommended that there be continuous focus on the situation across the Middle East and North Africa region. During its thirty-eighth session, the Board held a meeting with Member States during which the head of the Center for Victims of Torture, a beneficiary of the Fund, which assists victims fleeing from the Syrian Arab Republic, gave a poignant testimony of the assistance provided by the Center with the support of the Fund. 19. In the context of recent events in Mali, the Board also recommended support to projects in that country that aim to provide assistance for victims of torture. Other recommendations adopted by the Board 20. In application of the policy recommendations adopted by the Board at its thirtyseventh session, administrative compliance by grant beneficiaries has been vigorously enforced during the reporting period, particularly in relation to the requirement for the timely submission of financial and audit reports. 21. The Board recommended rebalancing the project portfolio in order to make more funding available for projects operating in the context of new and emergency situations. By so doing, the Board also intends to reverse the trend whereby the average grant size has been reduced. As a first step, the Board has advised the secretariat to make known to beneficiaries that as of the next call for applications, priority for projects will be determined 5