A/HRC/22/22 I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present report was prepared in accordance with the arrangements approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 66/150, by which it encouraged contributions to the Special Fund established by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Optional Protocol), and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Human Rights Council on the operations of the Special Fund. B. Mandate of the Special Fund 2. The Special Fund was established pursuant to article 26 of the Optional Protocol, to help finance the implementation of the recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment following a visit to a State party to the Optional Protocol, as well as education programmes of national preventive mechanisms. 3. The Special Fund receives voluntary contributions from Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other private or public entities. An overview of contributions to the Special Fund to date is provided under section II of the present note. C. Management of the Special Fund 4. The Special Fund is administered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations. 5. As an interim scheme, it was decided that the OHCHR Grants Committee, the advisory body to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, would advise the High Commissioner on the eligibility of projects and awards of grants based on the evaluation criteria set out in the guidelines for applications for the project cycles 2012 and 2013. This interim scheme will be reviewed in 2013. In this regard, note is taken of the readiness of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture to assist the work of the Special Fund, if so requested. D. Project cycle 2012 6. The Special Fund became operational in July 2011, and the first call for applications was launched on 1 November 2011. The first grants were awarded during 2012. Under the call for applications for the period 2011-2012, 69 applications were received, out of which 25 were deemed admissible (those submitted within the deadline and in which the geographic eligibility criteria were met1). In accordance with the guidelines for applications 1 2 Projects aiming at the implementation of recommendations made by the Subcommittee after a visit to a State party, provided those recommendations are contained in a report that has become public by the request of the State party.