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#TheTimeIsNow
8 September 2021
#TheTimeIsNow, the time for universal recognition of the right to a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment is now
URG Insights
International borders: Dividing lines for Indigenous Peoples’ rights
by Marine KRAUZMAN, URG Geneva
Today, nearly 476 million Indigenous Peoples live in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 5,000 different cultures and 6.2 percent of the world population. Many of these communities live across national borders, such as the Amazighs in North Africa, the Mapuche at the Chile-Argentina border, or the Sámi in Northern Europe. Current border governance practices often hamper Indigenous Peoples’ full enjoyment of land rights when access to land is essential to guarantee their livelihoods, food security and cultural survival. While existing international legal frameworks recognise these cross-border rights, to this day they have not been fully realised. There are,…
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Council President speaks of centrality of human rights to the multilateral system, including to peace and security, and sustainable development
by Abigail WEISS, URG Fellow
On April 21, 2022, Ambassador Federico Villegas of Argentina, the President of the Human Rights Council, gave a lecture at the New School in downtown New York, on the place of human rights in the UN system. Although he touched on a variety of themes, a key point was that human rights is integral to - and should be better linked with - crisis/conflict prevention, peace and security, and sustainable development. Respect for human rights is, he said, ‘the best way to prevent conflict.’ It is also, he added, ‘the best way of reconstructing the social and institutional fabric of…
#TheTimeIsNow – UN recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment: Past developments and future prospects
by Abigail WEISS, URG Fellow
Last week, the URG, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Dr. David Boyd, in partnership with New York University, held an expert seminar to look ahead towards the possible UN General Assembly recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (R2HE). Over the course of the seminar, the panelists gave informative and often heartfelt speeches – making the compelling point that GA recognition of R2HE is not only justified, but urgent. Furthermore, it was repeatedly noted that R2HE is broadly supported by civil society, by private…
Report on the 49th session of the Human Rights Council
by the URG team
Quick summary The 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC49) was held from Monday 28 February to Friday 1 April 2022. As the main annual session of the Council, HRC49 began with a High-Level Segment (HLS). The 2022 HLS included speeches by more than 120 world leaders, including six Heads or Deputy Heads of State, five Heads or Deputy Heads of Government, and 107 Ministers or Vice-Ministers. An analysis of the content and focus of the high-level speeches can be read here. In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the Council held an…
What are the human rights priorities of world governments in 2022?
by the URG team
An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, held from February 28 to March 3 2022, saw the active participation of more than 120 world leaders, including six heads or deputy heads of State, five heads or deputy heads of Government, and 107 ministers or vice-ministers. In the statements delivered to the Council, they addressed both domestic human rights concerns, developments and achievements, as well as their countries international priorities in the human rights sphere for 2022 and beyond. As such, the participation of…
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What were the main developments, achievements and flash-points at the Human Rights Council in 2021? What were the Council’s principle outputs and what kind of…
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Placing digital technology at the service of democracy and human rights (3D2)
From 16-17 November, a high-level meeting of State representatives, UN officials, technology company representatives, and civil society, took place in Montreux, Switzerland, as well as…Guide to the 2021 Human Rights Council Elections
The seventh annual yourHRC.org Guide to the Human Rights Council elections provides comprehensive at-a-glance information on the 2021 Council elections (tentatively scheduled to take place…Human rights in the digital age: Making digital technology work for human rights
The seventh Glion Human Rights Dialogue (Glion VII), organised by the Governments of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and the Universal Rights Group (URG), in partnership with the…URG next event
The Glion Human Rights Dialogue 2022 (‘Glion VIII’): ‘The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment – what does it mean for States, for rights-holders and for nature?’
By invitation only
The Glion Human Rights Dialogue is a retreat bringing together around sixty-five senior policy-makers and other stakeholders in an informal, non-attributable setting designed to promote open, forward-looking and solutions-oriented debate. This year’s Dialogue, which is organised by the Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the URG, in partnership with the Permanent Missions of Fiji, Iceland, the Maldives, Mexico, and Thailand, ...future events
No planned events at the moment
past events
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27 Apr 2022
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26 Apr 2022
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12 Apr 2022
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11 Mar 2022
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24 Feb 2022
The Istanbul Process is the dedicated mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of the action plan set out in Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 on combatting intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.
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