A/HRC/44/28 from 17 Spanish-speaking countries and multiple stakeholders attended the workshop, enabling the sharing of good practices. The voluntary technical assistance trust fund to support the participation of least developed countries and small island developing States in the work of the Human Rights Council is designed to strengthen institutional capacity to underpin the effective and informed participation of delegations from these countries in the work of the Council. 12 OHCHR provided support, including through training and travel assistance. To date, the fund has supported 132 delegates and fellows from 72 least developed countries and small island developing States. In its study on the role of technical assistance and capacity-building in fostering mutually beneficial cooperation in promoting and protecting human rights (A/HRC/43/31 and Corr.1), the Human Rights Committee Advisory Committee underscored that Member States must give full consideration to the principles of sovereignty, non-intervention and mutual benefit in international cooperation in human rights. It noted that States proposing bilateral technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights to other States should do so only at the request of the latter, and should pursue full respect of the requesting State. Proposing States should avoid applying any pressure to secure cooperation. B. United Nations human rights system 1. Universal periodic review The universal periodic review mechanism has included inter-State cooperation and development assistance as a theme in its reports. Recent developments include the emerging good practice of submitting midterm reports. For example, collaboration between the ad hoc interministerial committee of Sierra Leone and OHCHR culminated in the submission of a midterm report in July 2019, in preparation for the review scheduled in January 2021. The Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance in the implementation of the universal periodic review supported a follow-up project in Mongolia, which included the establishment of a national mechanism for the prevention of torture. The project was implemented in cooperation with OHCHR, the treaty bodies and the special procedures, the United Nations country team, the Government, including the parliament, the national human rights institution and national and international civil society organizations. Consequently, the parliament adopted the revised law on the National Human Rights Commission, which designates the Commission as the national mechanism for the prevention of torture. 2. Treaty bodies Several treaty bodies have recommended that States improve their international cooperation in specific areas, such as enforced disappearances, trafficking in persons and migrant workers. The Committee on Migrant Workers recommended that Ecuador step up its international, regional and bilateral cooperation in efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons (CMW/C/ECU/CO/3, para. 47 (g)). The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women called upon Barbados to continue its cooperation with specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system (CEDAW/C/BRB/CO/5-8, para. 54). The Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Vanuatu continue and strengthen its cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and that it explore increased cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other United Nations entities in the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the 12 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/TrustFund/Pages/SIDS-LDCs.aspx. 13