US calls Human Rights Council the “UN’s greatest failure” but recommits to pushing for reforms

by Danica Damplo, Universal Rights Group NYC Blog BORRAR, News BORRAR

On July 18, the Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley gave the keynote address at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, on the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council. The full speech and subsequent panel discussion can be found  here . Ambassador Haley characterised the United States as a unique nation, with values of freedom and human dignity embedded in its very foundation. She …

Why the US left the UN Human Rights Council – and why it matters

by Dr. Rosa Freedman Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, HRC BORRAR, Human Rights Council BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Human rights institutions and mechanisms BORRAR

The US’s announcement that it is  leaving the UN Human Rights Council  should not surprise anyone, since the Trump administration has long made clear its disdain for many parts of the United Nations. But the damage that the decision is likely to cause could nonetheless topple an increasingly wobbly house of cards. When the Human Rights Council was created in 2006, the US (then under the …

Rapport sur la 38ème session du Conseil des droits de l’Homme

by Geneva Human Rights Council reports, Regular session

Bref résumé: La 38ème session ordinaire du Conseil des droits de l’Homme ( CDH38 ) s’est déroulée du lundi 18 juin au vendredi 6 juillet 2018. Le 18 juin, Monsieur Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein a donné son discours introductif  sur l’état global des droits de l’Homme, en tant que Haut-Commissaire de l’ONU. Son successeur sera désigné par le Secrétaire général de l’ONU Antonia Guterres au …

Time for a ‘Universal Magnitsky Act’?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and Mary Grace Carey, Universal Rights Group Accountability, Blog BORRAR, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Corruption and human rights, Justice, Magnitsky BORRAR, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

In 2009, Russian tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison after investigating a $230 million tax fraud involving Russian officials. A subsequent investigation into his case by the Kremlin’s own human rights commission, ordered and endorsed (in July 2011) by the-then Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, found that in order to silence Magnitsky, corrupt officials had accused him of …

Informe de la 38ª sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos

by Geneva Human Rights Council reports, Regular session

Resumen rápido: La 38ª sesión ordinaria del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (CDH38) se celebró del lunes 18 de junio al viernes 6 de julio de 2018. El 18 de junio, el Excmo. Sr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein presentó su última actualización oral como Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos sobre la situación mundial de los derechos humanos. Se espera que su sucesor sea nombrado por el …

Report on the 38th session of the Human Rights Council

by the URG team Human Rights Council reports, Regular session

Quick summary: The 38th regular session of the Human Rights Council ( HRC38)  was held from Monday 18th June to Friday 6th July 2018. On 18th June, H.E. Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, presented his last oral update  as High Commissioner for Human Rights on the global human rights situation. His successor is expected to be selected by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over …

Human rights treaty bodies in the field: The experience of the African regional system

by Christof Heyns, Professor of Human Rights Law, Univeristy of Pretoria and Member of the UN Human Rights Committee and Abiola Idowu-Ojo, Acting Deputy Secretary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms BORRAR, Treaty Bodies

In a 2017 post  on this site, Christof Heyns and Willem Gravett proposed the idea of external sessions for the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies – they should meet at least once a year for part of the session outside Geneva, in order to ‘bring the system closer to the people’. This idea generated considerable interest, including in the recent report by the Geneva …

The UN Secretary-General’s human rights crisis can be solved

by Dr Bertrand G. Ramcharan Beyond the Council BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Secretary-General, Universal Periodic Review

There is a crisis in the United Nations human-rights system. Secretary-General António Guterres can lead the way out of it. Indeed, the world continues to look to the UN secretary-general to stand up for the principles of the organisation. One of the highest responsibilities of the incumbent is to help steer a course toward realising UN goals in the areas …

It is time for the United Nations to recognise the human right to a healthy environment

by Professor John H. Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, EHRD BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

Earlier this month, on World Environment Day, the Executive Director of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, and I jointly stated that the historic moment has arrived for the United Nations to recognise the human right to a healthy environment at the global level. The fundamental UN human rights treaties do not include this right because the modern environmental movement began in the late 1960s, …

La salida de EE.UU. del Consejo de Derechos Humanos: ¿Qué ha pasado realmente y qué viene a continuación?

by Geneva Blog INVALID 7, HRC BORRAR, Human Rights Council BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms

El 19 de junio, la Embajadora de Estados Unidos para la ONU, Nikki Haley, acompañada por el Secretario de Estado, Mike Pompeo, anunció que Estados Unidos renunciaría a su condición de miembro del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU . Las noticias sacudieron al Consejo y, en general, a la ONU; muchas delegaciones, especialmente occidentales, quedaron conmocionadas por las noticias y sus implicaciones para el sistema internacional de derechos humanos. Sin embargo, ¿deberían éstas, o cualquiera, realmente …