We are living in ‘an age of massive concentration of wealth, and unprecedented inequalities,’ an ‘abyss [has opened] between rich and poor [that] harms everyone.’ With these words, pronounced in his opening global update at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, High Commissioner Volker Türk cast the spotlight on inequality, an issue that has been gaining ground in the human rights …
Quick summary The 53rd regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC53 ) was held from Monday 19 June to Friday 14 July 2023. On 11 and 12 July 2023, an urgent debate was convened to ‘discuss the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries.’ …
On 16-17 May, the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe’s 46 members met at the Council’s Fourth Summit in Reykjavík to discuss the human rights impacts of current challenges, including the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the development of new technologies. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the Reykjavík Declaration , which laid out the Council’s commitment …
On Thursday 11 May 2023, the Human Rights Council convened a special session to address ‘the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan’. The Special Session was requested via an official letter dated 5 May signed by H.E. Simon Manley, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and submitted as a joint request by …
On 20 April, the Human Rights Council convened an intersessional meeting to review the effectiveness of its work under agenda item 10 on technical assistance and capacity building, and to seek ideas from States and civil society on how the Council might strengthen the effectiveness and impact of that work in the future In other words, is the Council effectively …
An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, held from February 27 to March 3 2023, saw the active participation of more than 130 world leaders, including three heads or deputy heads of State, eight heads or deputy heads of government, and 117 ministers …
In the powerful words of the global environmental icon, Professor Wangari Maathai , ‘[t]here comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness so that she stops threatening its life-support system.’ The twin resolutions by the UN Human Rights Council (resolution 48/13 , adopted on 8 October 2021) and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) (resolution 76/300 , adopted on …
Human rights analysis of high-level speeches during the general debate of the UN General Assembly Every autumn, leaders from around the world come together in New York for the UN General Assembly (GA) general debate. This gathering brings together Heads of State, Heads of Government, Foreign Affairs Ministers, and other dignitaries to address global issues and their impact on their …
A message from the 17th President of the Human Rights Council, H.E. Ambassador Václav Bálek (Czech Republic) The most ratified human rights treaty in the world, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, stipulates that adulthood begins at the age of eighteen. During the Czech Presidency, the Human Rights Council enters its 17th year. Therefore, in the spirit of the …
In a newly released report, Human Rights and the Security Council: A Relationship in Need of Thoughtful, Creative and Constant Cultivation , published by the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights @JBI_HumanRights, its author, Joanna Weschler, argues that despite the difficult political dynamics at present, the Security Council still has an impressive range of tools, working methods and practices at its disposal that – if used creatively and with ongoing attention – can …
