The Voluntary Fund for participation in the universal periodic review

Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/17 and 16/21, the Voluntary Fund for participation in the universal periodic review facilitates the participation of developing countries, particularly least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), in the universal periodic review mechanism.

As established in its TOR, the Fund provides financial support to cover travel to Geneva by one Government representative in order to participate in:

• sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review during which the representative’s country is considered; and
• plenary sessions of the Human Rights Council during which the outcome of the review of the representative’s country is adopted.

In addition, the Voluntary Fund covers:

• travel of representatives of developing countries which are members of the Human Rights Council and which do not have a permanent mission in Geneva, to act as Rapporteur (i.e. member of the “troika”); and
• training of Member States in the preparation of national reports.

A practical brochure on the Fund provides additional information about the support of the Fund to Member States.

Achievements

Since the establishment of the Fund in 2007, 118 countries have benefitted from the travel assistance under the Voluntary Fund. Out of these 118 States, approximately 60 per cent are LDCs and SIDS.

In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 6/30 on integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system and also bearing in mind that resolution 5/1 that established the universal periodic review stipulated that the mechanism should fully integrate a gender perspective (para. 3(k)), the UPR Secretariat has been encouraging States to consider gender balance in the composition of their delegation and in the sharing of responsibilities among its members. In the third cycle of UPR, 40 women and 55 men have been funded.

Since May 2017, OHCHR has been organizing informal briefings during the sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review for members of delegations participating in the review, especially those who have travelled from their capitals.

Funding

The total expenditure of the Voluntary Fund as of the 31 December 2023 was about USD 3,500, 000.

The Fund can receive voluntary contributions from States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations or private institutions and individuals. Since the establishment of the Fund in 2007, 22 countries have made financial contributions: Austria, Albania, Australia, Belgium, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Furthermore, in 2019, for the first time since the establishment of the Fund, an intergovernmental organization, the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF), made a contribution to the Fund.

For a more detailed overview about the Voluntary Fund, consult the latest Annual Reports on the operations of the Voluntary Fund:

• A/HRC/53/56
• A/HRC/50/17
• A/HRC/47/18
• A/HRC/44/18
• A/HRC/41/28
• A/HRC/38/26
• A/HRC/35/17
• A/HRC/32/27
• A/HRC/29/21
• A/HRC/25/36
• A/HRC/23/61
• A/HRC/20/39

For information please contact: ohchr-uprstates@un.org