A/HRC/10/49 page 7 24. The Board agreed to send a letter signed by the Chair to all Permanent Missions and Delegations to the United Nations Office at Geneva appealing for contributions to the Fund, not later than December 2008, which would also be used by the Board members in their respective regions as a basis for follow-up activities with States, as well as with other potential donors. C. Follow-up to Office for Internal Oversight Services recommendations 25. As recommended by the Board at its eleventh session, a global review of the Fund was undertaken by OIOS from November 2006 to January 2007. The objectives of the review were to review the impact of the Fund’s activities on the target groups and ascertain if grants were awarded in accordance with United Nations regulations and rules, and Fund guidelines, as well as to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of its reporting and monitoring processes. The final report containing 21 recommendations was issued in June 2007. 26. The overall assessment of OIOS is that the Fund is addressing its mandate and has a positive impact on victims of contemporary forms of slavery. OIOS emphasized that the Fund has certain unique characteristics. It assists small organizations working at the grass-roots level, focuses on issues that Governments are often reluctant to recognize and gives credibility to new initiatives which can then access other sources of funds to further grow and develop. 27. Under its agenda item on follow-up to OIOS recommendations, the Board met with Joanna Di Domenico, auditor at OIOS. Ms. Di Domenico stressed the progress that was made by the secretariat in implementing recommendations and noted the net increase in the number of applications and contributions received. Recommendations 1, 2 and 3 28. OIOS recommended that more detailed guidelines be established that include key indicators of contemporary forms of slavery for the selection of beneficiaries, to prioritize certain forms of contemporary slavery, in particular those not addressed by other international organizations and to support projects adopting a strategy that addresses the root causes of the problem, combined with direct assistance and income-generating activities that assist victims of contemporary forms of slavery. 29. The Board elaborated and provisionally adopted new guidelines and policies including key indicators of contemporary forms of slavery. Special provisions were inserted encouraging NGOs to develop sustainable projects accompanied by actions addressing the root cause of modern slavery, combined with direct assistance and income-generating activities that assist victims of contemporary forms of slavery. The Board also decided to request grantees to submit additional impact assessment reports two years after the termination of projects to enable a better impact assessment in the long term. Recommendation 4 30. OIOS recommended that the Fund should consider building a longer-term relationship with organizations that give direct assistance by providing funding to them over a period of two to three years.