OHCHR regional offices and centres are established on the basis of a standard agreement between OHCHR and the host country, following consultations with countries of the region. Regional offices and centres focus on cross-cutting regional human rights concerns and also support, at national level, follow-up to treaty bodies and special procedures as well as matters relating to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). They work closely with regional and sub-regional inter-governmental organizations. They also complement the expertise of human rights country presences by providing support on institutional and thematic issues. Regional offices and centres are funded both by regular budget and extra-budgetary contributions
Regional offices vary in size, with a minimum of three professional officers. Their activities, analyses, conclusions and recommendations are reported to the High Commissioner including through her annual report to the Human Rights Council.
At the end of 2010, OHCHR had 12 regional offices/centres, in East Africa (Addis Ababa), Southern Africa (Pretoria), West Africa (Dakar), Central Africa (Yaoundé), South-East Asia (Bangkok), the Pacific (Suva), the Middle East (Beirut), Central Asia (Bishkek), Europe (Brussels), Central America (Panama City), and South America (Santiago de Chile), and South-West Asia and the Arab Region (Doha).
Details on the individual field presences can be found in the relevant sections of the Strategic Management Plan.