A/HRC/23/61 I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 16/22 and decision 17/119, in which the Council requested the secretariat to provide an annual written update on the operations of the Voluntary Fund for Participation in the Universal Periodic Review and on the resources available to it. The present report provides an overview of contributions and expenditures as at 31 December 2012, together with a description of activities funded since the previous update (A/HRC/20/39). B. Background 2. In the annex to its resolution 5/1, the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a voluntary trust fund to facilitate the participation of developing countries, particularly least developed countries, in the universal periodic review mechanism. In its resolution 6/17, the Council requested the Secretary-General to establish, inter alia, such a fund, and requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take the necessary measures with a view to expeditiously operationalizing the mechanism. Member States, observers and other stakeholders of the Council were urged to support the operationalization of the Fund. In the annex to its resolution 16/21, the Council stated that the fund should be strengthened and operationalized in order to encourage a significant participation of developing countries, particularly least developed countries and small island developing States, in their review. 3. The Voluntary Fund for Participation in the Universal Periodic Review was established as a voluntary trust fund administered by the Secretary-General through OHCHR. An oversight through a board of trustees was considered unnecessary given the nature of the activities that the Fund was designed to support. II. Mandate of the Fund 4. States and other stakeholders, such as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, private institutions and individuals, may make voluntary contributions to the Fund. All developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, are entitled to request financial assistance through the Fund. Particular attention when allocating financial support should be given to least developed countries. A. Travel to meetings 5. Under the terms of reference of the Fund, financial support for travel to meetings is made available for official government representatives from developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to travel to Geneva in order to participate: (a) In sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review during which their country is considered; (b) In plenary sessions of the Human Rights Council during which the outcome of their review is adopted. 3