Introduction Human rights defenders have been on the agenda of the United Nations (UN) for several decades. After more than 13 years of negotiations, the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998 . This was a historic achievement. It was the first UN instrument to particularly recognise the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders, as well as their …
The UDHR and universal participation at the Human Rights Council: Two sides of the same coin ?
Ms. Fatou Camara Houel is the Coordinator of the Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States in the work of the Human Rights Council, administered by the Human Council Branch of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Do you know why the number 512 is associated with universality and …
Ethiopia secures important advances for human rights, including women’s rights
“…Our government’s stand on the rights of women and their equality is not out of favour to them but rather for our common good” Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia There is a growing public sense, promoted by the Western press and NGOs, that human rights are in retreat around the world. It is true that in some countries, including …
Moving from pledge to practice – Australia’s efforts to support civil society at the Human Rights Council
When Australia presented its candidacy for election to the Human Rights Council in 2015, we acknowledged the crucial role that a strong and robust civil society plays in preserving and advancing human rights. We pledged that, if elected, we would promote civil society participation opportunities at the Council, and advocate for the protection of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society …
The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and the contemporary human rights emergency of climate change
Monday 10th December 2018, Geneva, New York and Katowice Two concurrent news stories, seemingly unrelated. First, the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a moment in history reflecting humanity’s ambition for a more just and equal world. Second, world leaders gathered in Katowice, Poland, to finalise the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. …
El 70 aniversario de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos y la actual emergencia de derechos humanos por el cambio climático
Dos noticias concurrentes, aparentemente no relacionadas. En primer lugar, el 70 aniversario de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos, un momento de la historia que refleja la ambición de la humanidad de un mundo más justo e igualitario. Segundo, los líderes mundiales reunidos en Katowice, Polonia, para finalizar las reglas para la implementación del Acuerdo de París de 2015 sobre el cambio climático. De hecho, estos dos eventos están …
Turning the Implementation Agenda into Reality: IMPACT OSS – the latest in human rights technology
The ‘implementation agenda’ called for in the lead up to the next review of the Human Rights Council in 2021 is a lofty yet largely unrealized ambition. On February 28 this year, almost three years on from its conception, a High Level Panel convened at the Human Rights Council to discuss how this agenda might work in practice, suggesting that it has yet to achieve meaningful change. [1] The emergence …
Órganos de Tratados de Derechos Humanos en el territorio: El Sistema Regional Interamericano y las sesiones fuera de la sede
Siguiendo la publicación de Christof Heyns y Abiola Idowu-Ojo del 10 de julio de 2018 en este sitio, la presente publicación revisa la experiencia interamericana con la celebración de sesiones fuera de la sede, y considera las muchas ventajas, así como algunos desafíos. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Tanto la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (Comisión o CIDH) como la Corte Interamericana de Derechos …
Órganos de tratados de derechos humanos en el terreno: la experiencia del Sistema Regional Africano
En una publicación de 2017 en este sitio, Christof Heyns y Willem Gravett propusieron la idea de sesiones externas para los Órganos del Tratado de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, que debería reunirse al menos una vez al año durante parte de la sesión fuera de Ginebra para “llevar el sistema más cerca de la gente”. Esta idea despertó considerable interés, …
Human Rights Council Elections: clean slates continue to undermine the Council
On 12 October 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will hold elections for 18 seats on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a three-year term starting on 1 January 2019. All five UN regional groups have clean slates – in which the number of candidates is equal to the number of vacant seats. [1] These clean slates turn the election into …