When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke for the last time to the Commission on Human Rights he emphasised that “the era of declaration is now giving way, as it should, to an era of implementation.” [1] In the past, human rights implementation was often narrowly understood to mean passing a law and securing a favourable judicial decision. Of course, laws and …
‘By Invitation’ URG Insights blogs aim to offer an inclusive platform for all stakeholders to express and share information and opinion. The views expressed are the authors’ own, and do not necessarily represent the position of the URG. The 2015 edition of Freedom House’s Freedom in the World reported that observance of civil and political rights saw a decline for the ninth …
In December this year, world governments will meet in Paris to agree a new binding treaty to halt and ultimately reserve global climate change. COP21 is one of the most important environmental conferences ever to be held, but also one of the most important human rights gatherings of the past half-century. The ability of States to reach – or not …
In October 2013, before taking office as the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office in Geneva, I led the Chinese delegation that participated in our second cycle review under the Universal Periodical Review (UPR). The review took place, of course, in Room 20 of the Palais des Nations, and I was deeply impressed by the colourful ceiling designed by the …
In October 2012, US Under Secretary of State for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen, delivered a talk at Chatham House in London on the growing trend of ‘kidnapping for ransom’ (KfR). This monetary-driven form of terrorism, led by al-Qaeda and similar groups, seeks to use kidnapping and ransoms as a means of generating revenue to support further terrorist activities. In this regard, the extremist militant …
Quick summary The Human Rights Council held its first enhanced dialogue on the issue of human rights situation of migrants. 4 panel discussions were held during the session. 59 reports under the various items on the Council’s agenda were considered. The outcomes of the UPR working group reports of the following 14 countries were adopted: Armenia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, …
URG-CVF-Costa Rica-UN Special Procedures event on human rights and climate change in conjunction with UNFCCC SB42 in Bonn Wednesday 10th June 2015, Geneva On 10th June the Universal Rights Group, together with the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Government of Costa Rica organised an event to present and build on a Joint Statement (Friday 5 June) by UN Special Procedures …
On 3rd-4th June, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hosted, in Jeddah, a fifth round of the Istanbul Process, a series of intergovernmental meetings launched in 2011 by the former OIC Secretary-General, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, and former US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. The Istanbul Process was put in place to promote and guide the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 on combatting religious intolerance and discrimination. The resolution, adopted …
Late last month at the UN, representatives of all member states gathered to discuss how they would review and monitor progress once implementation of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda begins. For the members of the Post-2015 Human Rights Caucus , pursuing accountability for post-2015 commitments is a priority, given its centrality to human rights practice and the stark failure to promote accountability in the context of the MDGs . Therefore members of the Caucus – and many …
Wednesday 27th May 2015, Geneva The Universal Rights Group (URG) today welcomed the holding of the first informal Human Rights Council briefing with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a new work format discussed and developed through inclusive talks during the 2015 Glion Human Rights Dialogue . The informal Council briefings, organised in cooperation with and following a request by the UN High Commissioner …
