The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism was one of the main innovations introduced by UN member states at the time of the creation of the Human Rights Council in 2006. The first cycle of this global review mechanism saw all 193 UN members have their human rights records reviewed by their peers and receive recommendations for improvement. There was broad …
On October 21st the UN General Assembly held its annual election for seats on the Human Rights Council. A total of fifteen seats were available across the UN’s five regional groups, with the candidates and results shown in the table below (those elected in bold). The new members will start their three-year terms on 1st January 2015. In the African …
When in March 2005 former Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed in his report “In larger Freedom: toward development, security and human rights for all” the creation of the Human Rights Council to address the “credibility deficit” of the Commission on Human Rights, the aim was first and foremost to “create an organ that would be better placed to meet the …
The Council today moved to appoint seven new Special Procedures mandate-holders, including for the new mandate of Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (created in June 2014). These mandate-holders should have been appointed in September, during the 27th session, but the Council decided (as already happened earlier in 2014 with another batch of new mandate-holders) to postpone their …
The Universal Rights Group has joined over 270 organisations – representing over 3,000 organisations globally – in calling on the UN Secretary General to make sure that inequality is fully addressed is his upcoming Synthesis Report. GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT: NO TARGET MET UNLESS MET FOR ALL “Inequalities are not an inevitable outcome of development progress. If we are to …
13th October 2014, Geneva The Universal Rights Group (URG) is pleased to announce that Catarina de Albuquerque, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, has joined its Board of Trustees. The URG Board sets the overall strategic direction of the organisation and guarantees its independence and integrity. De Albuquerque is the first UN Special …
13th October 2014, Geneva An alliance of organisations, of which the Universal Rights Group is part, has commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to carry out a global programme of research to build understanding of business awareness, commitment and progress regarding human rights. As part of the research, the EIU will survey over 750 businesses (including major multinationals and SMEs) …
10 Octobre 2014, Journée mondiale contre la peine de mort La peine de mort est un acte cruel, inhumain et dégradant : elle n’est en rien utile à la lutte contre la criminalité et elle est toujours le signe de l’échec de la justice. En ce 25ème anniversaire de l’adoption du Protocole international visant à abolir la peine de mort, …
Next month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will release his Budget Outline for the biennium 2016-2017. This will provide a preliminary estimate of the resources required for each of the fourteen parts of the UN’s regular budget. The Budget Outline is a crucial moment in the long process that will eventually end with the General Assembly’s adoption of the programme budget …
The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, makes his inaugural address at the opening of the 27th session of the Human Rights Council. Quick Summary The 27th regular session of the Human Rights Council was held from 8th – 26th September 2014. At the opening of the session the new UN High Commissioner for Human …
