UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery

Mandate

Board
of Trustees
Beneficiaries

The
Grants Approval Cycle

Application forms:
–
for
travel
–
project grants

Eleventh
session of the Board of Trustees
Reports

Contributions

Contacts
How to
Contribute to the Fund

The Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on
Contemporary Forms of Slavery held its 11th session from 30 January
to 3 February 2006 at the Palais des Nations. The Board reviewed the
financial situation of the Fund, the implementation of the decisions
approved by the Secretary-General in 2005 and met with several staff
members working with relevant mandates. It also adopted
recommendations on: – applications for travel grants to allow NGO
representatives, including victims of contemporary forms of slavery,
to attend the 2006 session of the Working Group on Contemporary
Forms of Slavery; – and project grants received from grassroots NGOs
for the implementation of their projects in 2006 in favor of victims
of contemporary forms of slavery.

The Fund is administered in accordance with the
Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations by the
Secretary-General, with the advice of a Board of Trustees. The
mandate of the Board is to advise the Secretary-General on the use
of funds, through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights.

The Board is composed of five persons with relevant experience in
the field of human rights, and contemporary forms of slavery in
particular, serving in their personal capacity. The members of the
Board are appointed by the Secretary-General, in consultation with
the current Chairman of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights, with due regard to equitable
geographical distribution, for three-year, once renewable terms.

The current five members of the Board are Ms. Prateep Unsongtham
Hata (Thailand), Mr. Cheikh Saad-Bouh Kamara (Chairman, Mauritania),
Mr. José de Souza Martins (Brazil), Ms. Gulnara Shahinian (Armenia)
and Mr. David Weissbrodt (USA).

According to the criteria established by the General
Assembly in its resolution 46/122,
the beneficiaries of assistance from the Fund shall be: (i)
representatives from non- governmental organizations dealing with
issues of contemporary forms of slavery a) who are so considered by
the Board of Trustees; b) who would not, in the opinion of Board, be
able to attend the sessions of the Working
Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery without the assistance
provided by the Fund; c) who would be able to contribute to a deeper
knowledge on the part of the Working Group of the problems relating
to contemporary forms of slavery; (ii) individuals whose human
rights have been severely violated as a result of contemporary forms
of slavery and who are so considered by the Board. In addition, the
Board has developed other practices and guidelines which are
reflected in the application form.

For further information on contemporary forms of slavery you may
wish to consult the OHCHR publication “Abolishing
Slavery and its Contemporary Forms” (HR/PUB/02/4).

Application forms for travel
and project
grants have to be submitted by 15 September 2006 for
analysis by the secretariat of the Fund. Admissible applications are
examined by the Board of Trustees at its annual session in
January/February. The Board adopts recommendations for approval of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the
Secretary-General. The grants are paid in March/April. Beneficiaries
have to provide satisfactory narrative and financial reports on the
use of project grants. Until satisfactory reports on the use of
previous grants are received, no new grant can be considered.

The eleventh session of the Board of Trustees was held
at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 30 January to 3 February
2006.

The Board considered 27 applications for travel grants to allow
representatives of non-governmental organizations to attend the 31th
session of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and 89
applications for project grants.

After having examined the
applications in the light of the established criteria, the Board
recommended that approximately US$20,740 be spent for 7 new travel
grants. All travel grants have to be released before the 31st
session of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, to be
held in June 2006.

Also the Board recommended the payment of
US$590,160 for 47 project grants to be distributed before its
twelfth session, scheduled to be held in January 2007.

The Board held its annual meeting with regular and new donor
Governments, interested Governments and other donors. The meeting
was attended by representatives of 33 States: Angola , Armenia ,
Austria , Bahrain , Chile , Egypt , Ethiopia , France , Germany ,
Ghana , Greece , Holy See , India , Iraq , Ireland , Israel , Italy
, Japan , Luxembourg , Mauritania , Mexico , Morocco , Netherlands ,
Nigeria , Romania , South Africa , Spain , Sudan , Switzerland ,
Thailand , Turkey , United Kingdom and United States . A number of
donors expressed their support for the Fund and its unique work
providing direct assistance to victims.

The Board met with the Secretary of the Working Group on
Contemporary Forms of Slavery as well as a representative of the UN
Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Torture, and was briefed on the
recent work of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons,
especially in women and children. The Board also heard a
presentation by a representative of the ILO who spoke on the Global
Report on Forced Labour and other ILO activities in the field of
forced labour.

All the recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees at its
11th session were approved by the High Commissioner for Human Rights
on behalf of the Secretary-General on 13 February 2006.

The Secretary-General reports annually to the General
Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights on the activities of the
Fund and of its Board of Trustees.

The latest reports by the Secretary-General were those to the
General Assembly (A/60/273) and to the Commission on Human Rights
(E/CN.4/2006/75) and (E/CN.4/2006/76).

According to resolution 46/122, the Fund can receive
contributions from Governments, non-governmental organizations and
other private or public entities.

Contributions received from 20 April 1993 to 11 May
2006

CONTACTS

For further information about the Fund can be
obtained from the Secretariat of the Fund and Board.

Please contact Ms. Sharon O’Brien, PW
2-081
Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights
Research and Right to development Branch/Indigenous and
Minorities Unit
United Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

Tel. (41-22) 917 9381 or 917 9314/Fax (41-22) 917
9066
Email: SlaveryFund@ohchr.org