A/HRC/34/17 to victims of torture and their families, as well as — to a lesser extent — training and capacity-building in the field of rehabilitation, amounting to a total request of $15,303,910. 13. In line with the grant-making procedure set out at its forty-third session (see A/71/289, paragraphs 6-8), the Board accepted a total of 173 projects to be implemented in 75 countries for a total amount of $7,117,500. Of those projects, 166 are for the delivery of direct assistance services to victims of torture and 7 are for strengthening the delivery capacity of such services (training and capacity-building). With the vital financial assistance of the Fund, it is expected that more than 45,000 victims and their families will have access to rehabilitation in all regions of the world in the course of 2017. 14. All project proposals were reviewed on a competitive basis, taking into account the merit and documented needs of each proposal and its complementarity with other initiatives, as well as the number of years of continuous support by the Fund to the same project. 15. The Board also recommended setting aside an additional $500,000 to respond to emergency assistance requests that may be received in 2017 through the intersessional procedure of the Fund. 16. Through its enhanced emergency procedure, in 2016 the Fund was able to provide rapid financial support in the amount of $150,900 for the relief of victims of torture in the context of unfolding crisis. Emergency grants were awarded to provide vital rehabilitation services in Nigeria, South Sudan, Thailand and the State of Palestine. 17. In the face of these emergency requests, the Board remained concerned about the upsurge in the use of torture, in particular in the context of violent extremism and unprecedented levels of forced displacement and migration worldwide, and recalled that States had the obligation under international law to provide redress and rehabilitation to victims of torture. The Board was also concerned at situations of reprisals against a number of the Fund’s grantees who were attempting to provide rehabilitation to victims of torture and assist them in their path to obtain redress for the violations they had endured. 18. The Board also recommended giving special attention to project proposals focusing on: (a) early identification of victims of torture and their access to medical, legal, social and psychological services; (b) innovative strategic litigation initiatives; (c) victims of torture in territories controlled by non-State actors; (d) rehabilitation for women and children who were victims of torture; and (e) initiatives operating in contexts of restricted civil society space. Moreover, for the 2017 call for applications, the Board identified as priorities countries in the Middle East and North Africa; countries that were members of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (in particular Brazil); and countries in Central Asia. 19. During the forty-fourth session, the Board held a joint session with the Chair of the Committee against Torture, Jens Modvig, and the Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Malcolm Evans. The newly appointed Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment could not attend owing to other commitments. The meeting was another step towards consolidating a cohesive United Nations anti-torture front in the face of the persistence of torture and ill-treatment, one of the main elements in the mission statement of the Fund adopted in 2014. Agreement was reached on holding joint thematic meetings on a yearly basis, inviting the Fund to the annual meeting of the Committee and the Subcommittee and exploring the possibility of extending an invitation to the Fund to participate in the interactive dialogue of the anti-torture mechanisms at the General Assembly. The Fund was acknowledged as the one mechanism available to make the right to rehabilitation and redress for victims a reality. 5