A/HRC/32/51 participatory, transparent and non-discriminatory. The protection of the right to participate in decisions that affect the lives and livelihoods of the people that the United Nations serves, the voice to express their needs, the ability to engage in development projects and programmes, and the right to share fairly and equitably in the fruits of development are some of the paramount premises that should govern these technical cooperation programmes. The Board reiterates its views that “participation” should be understood as an inclusive term that refers to engagement with all relevant actors in all the stages of the technical cooperation process: design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 33. Corruption, discrimination, inequality, especially gender inequality, and abusive power relations are often at the heart of development challenges and obstacles. The Board, through its experiences on the ground, is convinced that technical cooperation programmes aimed at respecting and strengthening the rule of law, in accordance with international standards, are critical in the establishment of conducive and supportive environments enabling sustained and sustainable development. Through such programmes, the establishment of effective, transparent and accountable institutions should form the basis of development and equitable distribution. Capacity-building programmes aimed at strengthening national institutions, such as the judiciary and national human rights institutions fully compliant with the Principles relating to the status of national institutions (the Paris Principles),3 are essential. Equally critical are programmes to enable civil society to work freely and to participate actively and effectively in these processes. 34. Since its establishment, the Fund has supported numerous programmes on the ground aiming at integrating human rights into national development efforts, notably through OHCHR country presences and human rights advisers in United Nations country teams. The Board has noted and valued the role of OHCHR, in particular the role of the Human Rights Advisers, in providing technical know-how and support to mainstream human rights standards into United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and to assist the United Nations country teams to operationalize such standards. One example is Ecuador. In 2008 the national report of Ecuador to the universal periodic review defined the inclusion of a human rights-based approach to planning as a priority for international cooperation and in 2009 the National Secretariat for Planning and Development (Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo) requested OHCHR support for this endeavour through technical cooperation. Through the support of the Human Rights Adviser, the collaboration between OHCHR and the National Secretariat produced a number of relevant results, including the guidelines for the integration of a human rights-based approach in the national development plan, which were adopted by ministerial decree making them compulsory, as well as the development of an atlas of socioeconomic inequalities. This collaboration has been presented in Human Rights Council debates by the State on various occasions as successful in placing people and their rights at the centre of development planning and in guiding the implementation processes. In 2011 the Ministry of Justice of the Palestinian National Authority requested OHCHR assistance in preparing an action plan that integrated a rights-based framework into national development. This resulted in the preparation of effective and implementable guidance for the incorporation of human rights into the 2014–2016 Palestinian National Development Plan. 35. In 2015, several results of this type of cooperation were achieved with resources from the Fund. The Bolivian Human Rights Council approved the National Human Rights Action Plan for 2015–2020, which is being considered by the Ministry of Development Planning. The Office assisted in its preparation. In March, the Bolivian Human Rights Council also approved the Plurinational Human Rights Policy for 2015–2020, which 3 10 General Assembly resolution 48/134.