A/HRC/43/25 14. Admissible project proposals were reviewed by the Board 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 $400,000 to respond to emergency assistance requests that may be received in the course of 2020 through the Fund’s intersessional emergency grants procedure. 16. Through its enhanced emergency procedure, in 2019 the Fund was able to provide financial support in the amount of $417,313 for the immediate relief of victims of torture. Grants under the emergency procedure were awarded to support vital rehabilitation services. 17. During the session, the Board met with representatives of the Core Group of States and the secretariat of the Convention against Torture Initiative. They addressed efforts to advance towards the implementation of the right to rehabilitation and redress, as provided in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and towards synergies between their respective activities. 18. The Board also met with representatives of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the International Center for Health and Human Rights to discuss their Right to Rehabilitation Project to develop indicators on the topic. 19. In line with its objective to make the Fund a platform for knowledge-sharing in the field of rehabilitation and redress for victims, the Board also agreed to hold an expert workshop on the theme of assisting torture survivors in the context of shrinking civic space, at its fifty-first session, in April 2020. As on previous occasions, the workshop will bring together selected experts and practitioners from organizations supported by the Fund, as well as special procedures and representatives from treaty bodies and United Nations agencies. The event will include a public segment. The findings of the last expert workshop, entitled “Surviving torture and fighting stigma: the road to recovery for victims of sexual and gender-based torture”, are contained in A/74/233 (para. 10). V. Making a contribution 20. Governments, non-governmental organizations and other public and private entities are encouraged to contribute to the Fund. It is important to note that only specifically earmarked contributions are attributed to the Fund. For more information on how to contribute and details about the Fund, donors are requested to contact the secretariat of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; e-mail: unvfvt@ohchr.org; telephone: +41 22 917 9376; fax: +41 22 917 9017. VI. Conclusions and recommendations 21. In his statement issued on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June 2019, the Secretary-General stated the need to support victims and ensure respect for their right to rehabilitation and redress. He also noted that the victim-centred approach that guides the Fund had helped to create a better understanding of the different dimensions of torture, including the use of sexual and gender-based violence, and of the specific assistance that different kinds of survivors of torture need. The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture continues to play an indispensable role by supporting organizations that provide specialized assistance to victims of torture. 22. The Fund has also affirmed itself, with expert guidance from its Board, as a platform for exchanging and collecting expertise in the field of rehabilitation and redress for victims of torture by holding annual thematic workshops. The next such workshop, focusing on assisting survivors of torture in the context of shrinking civic space, will be held in Geneva in April 2020. 23. The Secretary-General appeals to Member States and other stakeholders to contribute to the Fund, noting that contributions are a concrete manifestation of the 5