A/HRC/37/79 observed how the work of the monitoring team for the Syrian Arab Republic continues to be a key source for OHCHR data collection, early warning and advocacy and also for capacity-building activities with partners on a number of specific thematic issues, including human rights documentation methodology, sexual and gender-based violence, transitional justice, future legal reform and general strengthening of the human rights expertise of Syrian human rights civil society. The Board was very impressed by the commitment and work of the team in the challenging circumstances of not having access to the country and undertaking remote monitoring. For the Board, the output of the team provides another important example of the quality work that OHCHR delivers and how it is being used to guide the process of many other key actors. For the Board, that is the type of technical cooperation the Office is best placed to provide. 21. The Board met with the Resident Coordinator in Lebanon and with many representatives of the United Nations in the region, which is one of the largest and most diverse United Nations presences in the world in terms of the number of agencies and programmes. The Board always takes such opportunities with the relevant agencies and programmes to gather information on synergies and cooperation on the ground supporting national efforts in any critical area with relevance for the promotion and protection of all economic, civil, cultural, political and social rights. Several United Nations agencies and programmes, as has been the case in other regions, stressed how useful they found the information provided by the Office and its advice concerning international human rights standards, which offer key guidance to their programmes to support the efforts of States to fulfil their international human rights obligations. The Board was particularly interested in the ongoing work and plans in the context of the agenda on prevention; on support for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals; and on the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights. The impact of the conflicts in the region, and the question of inequalities and the implications for the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals made clear the important role of OHCHR and the expectations regarding the provision of substantive guidance and advisory services. 22. The Board was informed by various partners on the ground that the OHCHR regional office is seen as the expert point of reference. The Board hopes that strengthening the OHCHR regional presence will result in an increase in thematic capacity, particularly at this critical juncture, when peace and security, violent extremism and the need to strengthen the rule of law and to eliminate inequalities play such a critical role in the stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. The Middle East and North Africa Region is one of the regions not benefiting from the presence of human rights advisers in the United Nations setting. In all the other regions the Board has visited, human rights advisers have proved very useful in supporting United Nations efforts to mainstream human rights across the programmes on the ground and support States with their human rights commitments, pledges and obligations, in particular where OHCHR does not have a fully-fledged presence. 23. During the visit to the regional office and in discussions with partners, the Board was able to observe in practice the complementarities and relevance of its mandate relating to both the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation and the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance in the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Review. There are clear expectations that OHCHR will continue to provide sound advice on the engagement with and follow-up to the outcomes from the universal periodic review, not only from national partners across the region but also from the United Nations. The importance of enhancing the linkages between these outcomes, recommendations and reviews and the efforts on the ground to combat inequality and discrimination were particularly stressed. Throughout the region, inequality requires effective responses in terms of economic and social human rights, as noted in several of the meetings the Board held. However the effects of exclusion and mistrust will clearly continue having a negative impact on the progress towards peace and on durable solutions for the millions of refugees and displaced persons across the region. 24. In the view of the Board, the next programming cycle provides an excellent opportunity to expand the work of the Office in the region, strengthening its staff capacity on the ground and expanding its presence at the national level. The Board would like to 8