Strengthening 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

A/HRC/RES/49/32View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building, published in 2022.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Capacity Building Conferences Human Rights Least Developed Countries Small Island Developing States Technical Cooperation Training Programmes Trust Funds

What’s in this document?

21 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the tenth anniversary of the establishment of 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, which offers an important opportunity to take action in furtherance of the universal participation of all States Members of the United Nations in the work of the Human Rights Council;

Also welcomes the holding of the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming, on 28 February 2022, on the theme “The contribution of universal participation to the mainstreaming of human rights throughout the United Nations system on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of 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”;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right on the operations of 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,² reflecting the views of former beneficiaries of the Trust Fund, through the four regional workshops, and in which the Office of the High Commissioner evaluated the activities of the Trust Fund in meeting its training and capacity-building mandate in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 34/40;

²A/HRC/49/92 and Corr.1.

Recognizes the continued achievements of the Trust Fund since its operationalization in 2014, and in particular its contribution to:

The creation and provision of an e-learning tool in the two working languages of the secretariat of the Trust Fund, providing initial training and information on the rules, functioning and customary practices of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms;

The participation of 173 delegates, namely 108 women and 65 men, from 71 of the 72 eligible least developed countries and small island developing States, in the work of the Council, as at February 2022;

The conduct of virtual and in-person induction training sessions prior to the regular sessions of the Council;

The holding of four regional workshops in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific on identifying where further improvements to the activities of the Trust Fund might be made and assessing the value of its activities in fulfilling its training and capacity-building mandate in support of the engagement of least developed countries and small island developing States and its mechanisms, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 34/40;

The implementation of the activities of the Trust Fund in the two working languages of the secretariat of the Trust Fund;

Encourages the secretariat of the Trust Fund to continue its training and capacity-building activities by:

Regularly updating the e-learning tool to reflect the working methods of the Human Rights Council and include new modules on the work of the Council;

Disseminating the training tools to the Permanent Missions of all least developed countries and small island developing States to the United Nations in Geneva and New York, on a trial basis, using cost-effective methods;

Disseminating practical guides on the rules, functioning and practices of the Council and its mechanisms to new diplomats arriving in Geneva from least developed countries and small island developing States;

Including a virtual segment in the induction course currently organized prior to the commencement of each regular session of the Council;

Welcomes with appreciation the voluntary contributions made to the Trust Fund by States from all five regional groups, and encourages all States to make such voluntary contributions;

Invites the secretariat of the Trust Fund to organize an annual briefing to raise awareness and review the activities of the Trust Fund;

Also invites the secretariat of the Trust Fund to explore, on a trial basis, ways to support delegates from least developed countries and small island developing States with a view to facilitating their participation in special sessions of the Human Rights Council and in important intersessional activities;

Encourages the Trust Fund to support the conduct of at least one briefing on the outcomes of the regular and special sessions of the Human Rights Council each year in New York for least developed countries and small island developing States, with a view to supporting the engagement of these delegations in the work of the Third Committee of the General Assembly;

Also encourages the Trust Fund to continue to engage former beneficiaries of the Trust Fund from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific to exchange ideas on strengthening engagement with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms;

Further encourages the Trust Fund to support the conduct of a regional workshop in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific, with government officials, including former beneficiaries of the Trust Fund, before the fifteenth anniversary of the Trust Fund in 2027, reflecting on its achievements, identifying where further improvements to the activities of the Trust Fund might be made and assessing the value of its activities in fulfilling its training and capacity-building mandate in support of the engagement of least developed countries and small island developing States in the work of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, based on the outcomes of the consultations in the four regional groups, in which the Office evaluates the activities of the Trust Fund to increase the engagement of least developed countries and small island developing States in the work of the Human Rights Council, and to present the report to the Council at its sixty-fourth session.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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