A/HRC/44/19
recommendations arising from the universal periodic review and the reception of dedicated
support for that task. Continued donations to the Voluntary Fund and a widening of the
donor base are both crucial to further solidify the long-term sustainability of universal
periodic review-related technical cooperation, both during the third but also well into future
review cycles, especially taking into account the increase in projects foreseen for 2020.
V. Final considerations
60.
The Secretary-General, in his report on strengthening United Nations action in the
field of human rights (A/72/351), stated that the increased focus on the follow-up to and
implementation of recommendations made by human rights mechanisms provided the
United Nations system with an opportunity to further engage with Member States.
International cooperation, including through human rights mechanisms and their
recommendations, gave an important basis for States to achieve greater results in both the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights protection at the
country level. Technical assistance in the field of human rights should be based on such
recommendations and be delivered in closer cooperation and partnership with Member
States, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, nongovernmental organizations and the wider United Nations system.
61.
The recommendations of human rights mechanisms, in particular universal periodic
review recommendations that are accepted by the State, are one of the best entry points for
United Nations system-wide engagement at the national level. The operationalization of the
2030 Agenda, linking it to universal periodic review recommendations, allows the United
Nations to assist States in achieving concrete results both in terms of human rights progress
and development targets.
62.
The conclusions above were also highlighted by participants at the high-level panel
on human rights mainstreaming, held on 26 February 2018 during the thirty-seventh session
of the Human Rights Council, and by the Deputy Secretary-General, In her dialogue with
the Human Rights Council on 7 March 2019. The Deputy Secretary-General underlined that
countries could show progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by utilizing
human rights reporting processes, such as the universal periodic review, and that those
review processes could in turn complement the voluntary national reviews conducted at the
high-level political forum for sustainable development. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, in her report to the Human Rights Council on the
implementation and enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights
(A/HRC/41/25), noted that the United Nations system at the country level was well placed
to support implementation efforts by Member States through the use of the accepted
recommendations from universal periodic reviews.
63.
In his most recent human rights report, “The highest aspiration: a call to action for
human rights 2020”, presented at the opening of the forty-third session of the Human
Rights Council in March 2020, the Secretary-General highlighted the importance of the
universal periodic review recommendations to advance the 2030 Agenda. The SecretaryGeneral encouraged the full use of the human rights mechanisms, including the universal
periodic review, to contribute to the implementation of the Goals. He also asked for better
use of the universal periodic review outcomes in national development planning and in
follow-up and reporting, including on the Sustainable Development Goals and in the
preparation of the voluntary national reviews. Additionally, in his report, the SecretaryGeneral requested the United Nations to make fuller use of its human rights tools and entry
points, including the universal periodic review, as a basis for meeting the challenges,
opportunities and needs of the twenty-first century and for implementation of the 2030
Agenda.
64.
As previously mentioned, the letters of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights to the foreign ministers of countries after they countries undergo a third
cycle review flag areas that need particular attention over the four-and-a-half years until the
State’s next review, and offer support from OHCHR or the United Nations system under
the leadership of the respective United Nations Resident Coordinator. These letters, jointly
with the matrices of clustered recommendations linked to specific Sustainable Development
Goals with relevant targets and indicators, as well as the production of infographic pages,
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