OFFICE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS UNVEILS ANNUAL APPEAL 2005

7 December 2004

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is unveiling its Annual Appeal 2005, outlining its financial requirements for the coming year and providing an overview of activities as it enters its second decade.

OHCHR expects to receive $30 million from the regular budget of the United Nations, but it will need an additional $59.8 million in voluntary contributions to cover all of its requirements.

“Voluntary contributions are vital for the survival of our Office, especially when regular budget funding represents a third of our total requirements”, says High Commissioner Louise Arbour, adding that OHCHR continually seeks to address that imbalance. Governments, foundations and individuals are among the donors to the Office.

Introducing the Appeal, the High Commissioner identifies her main goals as contributing to the strengthening of the rule of law nationally and internationally, focusing on the rights of the most vulnerable, and improving her Office’s ability to respond to emergency situations.

OHCHR is engaged operationally in some 40 countries through stand-alone offices, as part of United Nations peace missions, within United Nations country teams or through technical cooperation projects. The wide ranging activities of the field offices include training law enforcement officials, strengthening national human rights institutions, mapping past human rights violations and denouncing current abuses. The Appeal provides an overview of these activities and outlines the High Commissioner’s priorities for her tenure.

The Office of the High Commissioner was established in 1994. That year, the Office, which then included the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, received $15 million in pledges. In 2003 the Office received $44 million, while this year pledges up to November amount to $54 million.


The OHCHR Annual Appeal 2005 is available at the following Internet address: http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/docs/appeal2005.pdf