A/HRC/44/19 6. As members of the two Voluntary Funds, the Board of Trustees also continued to offer policy guidance in order to enhance the effectiveness of technical assistance and financial support for States in implementing recommendations of the universal periodic review and other international mechanisms. The Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance held its eleventh session in Geneva from 19 to 21 March 2019, focused mostly on continuing its policy guidance on the operationalization of the Voluntary Fund, including a wide-ranging discussion on the adoption of draft guidelines on the use of the Voluntary Fund in light of developments at the national and international levels. The Board of Trustees also increased its focus on the creation or strengthening of national capacities for coordination and implementation and the creation of efficiencies in reporting and implementation, and in light of the Sustainable Development Goals or the strategic choice of implementation of specific thematic recommendations, among other areas. 7. In November 2019, the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance visited the OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa in Pretoria and Mozambique, where it held its twelfth session. The visit provided an opportunity for the Board to observe in situ the development and implementation of programmes by another OHCHR regional presence. The main purpose of the session was to increase the understanding of the type of technical cooperation that OHCHR provides in a regional context and to give relevant guidance to the Regional Office to continue strengthening the technical cooperation components of its programmes on the ground. The Board also used the opportunity to visit the OHCHR project in Mozambique and its main partners. In Mozambique, the Board observed the integration and complementarities of the various funding tools of OHCHR. It was noted that the support provided to the Ministry of Justice through the Voluntary Fund, supervised by the expertise of the Regional Office, represented a good example of the support given by the Voluntary Fund. B. Strategic use of the Voluntary Fund 8. Since its establishment, the universal periodic review mechanism has completed two cycles, in which every State Member of the United Nations has undergone reviews. The third universal periodic review cycle began in May 2017, and Member States have shown growing interest in the review process; as a result, the average number of recommendations of the reviews in the third cycle has increased considerably. From the second cycle onwards, a particular focus of the reviews has been the implementation of the accepted recommendations, as stipulated by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 16/21. 9. Taken together with the recommendations of treaty bodies and special procedure mandate holders, recommendations from universal periodic reviews highlight a cross section of the critical human rights gaps at the country level. They point to the areas that need strengthening in order to bolster national human rights institutions and national capacities, foster resilience and create an environment conducive to addressing the root causes of human rights violations and, as such, have a preventive effect. 10. OHCHR has been supporting States in implementing universal periodic review recommendations in a holistic manner, jointly with the recommendations of other United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular through the use of the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance, at the request and with the consent of the State involved. 11. OHCHR has been making every effort to make its follow-up support more proactive, systematic and results-oriented. It has been holding at least two informal briefings during the sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, especially for members of delegations who have travelled from their countries to participate in the review. The briefings provide visiting delegations with an overview of follow-up processes and measures for the implementation of recommendations of human rights mechanisms, in particular the universal periodic review, and inform delegates about the possibilities offered by the Voluntary Fund. 12. In order to advocate for further national level implementation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been sending letters to the foreign ministers of countries that have undergone third cycle reviews. The letters flag priority areas of concern that are in need of particular attention during the four-and-half years until the next review, 3