4/66 Report of the Secretary-General on the operations of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture

UNITED NATIONS

A

General Assembly Distr. GENERAL

A/HRC/4/66 18 December 2006

Original: ENGLISH

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fourth session Item 2 of the provisional agenda

IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL”

Report of the Secretary-General on the operations of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture

Summary

In accordance with Human Rights Council decision 2/102, the present report provides updated information on the activities of the Fund since the publication of the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly (A/61/226) on 28 July 2006, including further progress in implementing the review recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). It also describes the financial situation of the Fund and its needs for 2008.

GE.07-10013 (E) 030107

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page

I. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES .......... 1 - 7 3

A. Monitoring of projects ............................................................. 1 - 2 3 B. Aiming at greater geographical balance in grant allocation .... 3 - 5 3

C. Strengthened management system ........................................... 6 - 7 3

II. FINANCIAL SITUATION ........................................................... 8 - 9 4

A. Contributions received ............................................................. 8 4

B. Estimated needs for 2008 ......................................................... 9 4

III. HOW TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION ........................................ 10 5

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................ 11 - 13 5

I. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES

A. Monitoring of projects 1. The Secretariat has fully implemented Recommendation 11 of the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) (E/CN.4/2005/55) emphasizing the need for a systematic and ongoing monitoring and evaluation system of projects funded. A total of 228 projects have been visited since 2000, which completes the first cycle of visits of projects financed between 2000 and 2006. These visits were undertaken by members of the secretariat of the Fund, staff members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) both in Geneva and in the field, as well as by staff members of other United Nations field presences.

2. At its twenty-sixth session, which will be held from 5 to 9 February 2006, the Board of Trustees will elaborate criteria for the second cycle of visits which should start in 2007, following its recommendation whereby all recurrent projects will be visited every four to five years.

B. Aiming at greater geographical balance in grant allocation

3. Recommendation 4 of the OIOS report called for “greater geographical balance in grant allocation” and a proactive approach by the Secretariat in identifying potential grantees. The Board, at its twenty-fifth session, set aside US$ 250,000 for new projects identified by United Nations field presences, members of the secretariat of the Fund and members of the Board in priority regions, namely Africa, Asia and emerging democratic States, in particular the Commonwealth of Independent States. Eligible applications will be reviewed by the Board at its twenty-sixth session when funding will be allocated for the year 2007.

4. The Secretariat has launched a call for proposals for priority regions for 2007 through OHCHR’s field presences, human rights components of United Nations peace missions, OHCHR’s non-governmental organizations liaison officer, regional organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and international networks of organizations working directly or indirectly with victims of torture, namely the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT).

5. A call for proposals for the year 2008 under the regular funding procedure has also been launched inviting eligible organizations to apply to the Fund between 1 January and 1 April 2007. These requests will be considered by the Board at its twenty-seventh session, in October 2007, and funding will be allocated for the year 2008.

C. Strengthened management system

6. Recommendation 9 of the OIOS report stated that “the Fund should establish a central and computerized historical, financial and narrative project tracking system that will allow staff to follow and document the history and progress of its relationship with grantees and donors”.

The Secretariat is currently developing a web-based tool to strengthen the management of the Fund through improved administrative and management processes and enhanced assistance and monitoring of the work of grantees. The tool includes an online application, which would allow organizations to submit their funding requests, as well as an online reporting module for grantees to inform about the use of grants.

7. The application module has been designed and sent for testing to a group of selected grantees both from technically developed and less technically developed countries. The feedback obtained from this testing exercise will be used to fine-tune the functionalities of the module. The results will then be presented to the Board of Trustees at its twenty-sixth session.

II. FINANCIAL SITUATION

A. Contributions received

8. The following contributions were recorded since the publication of the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly in July 2006.

List of contributions received since July 2006

Donors Contribution No.

Amount (in United States dollars)

Date recorded

Austria 23 82 076 8 September 2006 Canada 24 52 798 9 November 2006 Chile 15 10 000 28 July 2006 Greece 23 26 350 7 December 2006 Holy See 9 1 000 22 August 2006 Israel 10 5 000 2 November 2006 Kuwait 1 10 000 15 September 2006 Liechtenstein 18 8 130 15 September 2006 Morocco 5 3 000 23 October 2006 The Netherlands 26 1 025 641 19 September 2006 Republic of Korea 12 10 000 6 October 2006 Spain 23 383 540 9 October 2006 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

5 10 000 13 October 2006

Total 1 617 535

B. Estimated needs for 2008

9. At its twenty-fifth session, the Board allocated grants for an 18-month period from July 2006 to December 2007, hence completing the change in the funding cycle which will allow grantees to receive funding in January 2008 for the year 2008. On the basis of the requests received for 2006, it is expected that approximately US$ 12 million will be requested for 2008.

III. HOW TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION

10. Contributions to the Fund should always be marked as follows: “payee: United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, account CH”. Payments may be made either by bank transfer: (a) in United States dollars to “United Nations Geneva General Fund”, account No. 485001802, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, International Agencies Banking, 1166 Ave. of the Americas, 17th floor, New York, NY 10036-2708, United States of America (Swift code: CHAS US 33; ABA code: 021000021); (b) in euros to “United Nations Office at Geneva”, account No. 23961901, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, United Kingdom (Swift code: CHAS GB 2L, Sorting code: 60-92-42, IBAN: GB25 CHAS 6092 4223 9619 01); (c) in sterling pounds to “United Nations Office at Geneva”, account No. 23961903, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, United Kingdom (Swift code: CHAS GB 2L, Sorting code: 60-92-42, IBAN: GB25 CHAS 6092 4223 9619 03); (d) in Swiss francs to “United Nations Geneva General Fund”, account No. 240-C0590160.0, UBS, rue du Rhône 8, Geneva 2, Switzerland (Swift code: UBSW CH ZH 12A; IBAN: CH65 0024 0240 CO59 0160 0); (d) in any other currency to “United Nations Geneva General Fund”, account No. 240-C0590160.1, UBS, rue du Rhône 8, Geneva 2, Switzerland (Swift code: UBSW CH ZH 12A; IBAN: CH65 0024 0240 CO59 0160 1); (e) or by cheque payable to “United Nations” addressed to: Trésorerie, Nations Unies, Palais des Nations, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Donors are requested to inform the Secretariat of the Fund and the Resource Mobilization Unit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights when a payment has been made (a copy of the bank transfer order or of the cheque would be appreciated) to facilitate effective follow-up on the official recording procedure and preparation of the Secretary-General’s reports.

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

11. Pursuant to the appeals by the General Assembly and the Board of Trustees of the Fund, donors are invited to pay their contributions to the Fund before the session of the Board to enable the latter to take them into account at its twenty-seventh session, in October 2007.

12. The General Assembly and the Board have also urged regular donors to increase their contributions if possible in order to provide the Board with the resources to meet the growing needs of torture victims and the members of their families.

13. The Board strongly encourages Governments that have not yet contributed to the Fund to do so for the first time, preferably before September 2007.

-----