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 By invitation, Human rights implementation and impact, 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 By invitation, 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 By invitation, Climate, 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 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 …

US departure from the Human Rights Council: what really happened and what will happen next?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Human rights institutions and mechanisms

On 19th June, the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, flanked by the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced that the US would resign its membership of the UN Human Rights Council. The news rocked the Council and the wider UN, with many delegations, especially Western delegations, visibly shaken by the news and its implications for the international human rights system. Yet should they – or anyone else – really be …

Why is the media unfair to the United Nations? And what the Organization is doing to make newsrooms friendlier

by Javier Delgado Rivera, Journalist By invitation, Human rights institutions and mechanisms

Constructive media coverage is essential for the UN. It helps the organisation both to raise awareness of neglected crises around the world and to increase visibility for its role in addressing them. In fact, a strong online, press, and TV presence can help mobilise the human, political, and economic resources needed to solve or prevent these situations. The media also …

Anticorrupción y derechos humanos

by H.E. Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom By invitation, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

El 1 de mayo de este año, los diputados de los principales partidos políticos del Reino Unido acordaron en el Parlamento del Reino Unido apoyar la enmienda ‘Magnitsky’ al proyecto de ley de sanciones y prevención del lavado de dinero. La enmienda fue adoptada sin votación y fue descrita por el Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores, Boris Johnson, como “un momento …

Anti-corruption and human rights

by H.E. Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom By invitation, Corruption and human rights, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Thematic human rights issues

On 1 May this year, MPs from across the major UK political parties, agreed in the UK Parliament to support a ‘Magnitsky’ amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill. The amendment was adopted without a vote and was described by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, as “an important moment” that would “allow the UK to act against those responsible …