A/HRC/28/25 I. Introduction A. Submission of the report 1. The present note was prepared in accordance with General Assembly resolution 68/156, and complements the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Fund, which was submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session (A/69/296). It presents updated information on the activities of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, in particular the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund at its fortieth session, held in Geneva from 29 September to 3 October 2014. B. Mandate of the Fund 2. The Fund receives voluntary contributions from Governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals. In accordance with the mandate of the Fund outlined in General Assembly resolution 36/151, and the practices established by the Board of Trustees since 1982, the Fund provides grants to established channels of assistance, including nongovernmental organizations, associations of victims and of family members of victims, private and public hospitals, legal clinics, and public interest law firms and individual lawyers, that submit projects involving medical, psychological, social, financial, legal and humanitarian or other forms of assistance to victims of torture and members of their families. C. Administration of the Fund and composition of the Board of Trustees 3. The Secretary-General administers the Fund through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with the advice of the Board of Trustees, which is composed of five members who act in their personal capacity and are appointed by the Secretary-General with due regard to the principle of equitable geographical distribution and in consultation with their Governments. The Board is currently composed of Maria Cristina de Mendonca (Portugal), Morad el-Shazly (Egypt), Anastasia Pinto (India) and Adam Bodnar (Poland). On 10 July 2014, the SecretaryGeneral appointed Gaby Oré Aguilar (Peru) for a three-year term, renewable once, to replace Mercedes Doretti (Argentina) following the latter’s resignation. II. Management of grants A. Admissibility criteria 4. Project admissibility criteria are outlined in the guidelines of the Fund for Victims of Torture, which were revised at the thirty-ninth session of the Board of Trustees, in 2014. The guidelines require a project to be presented by an established channel of assistance, including non-governmental organizations, associations of victims and of family members of victims, private and public hospitals, legal clinics, public interest law firms and individual lawyers. The beneficiaries must be direct victims of torture or direct family members. Priority is given to projects providing direct assistance to torture victims, which 2