My priorities as the 18th President of the Human Rights Council I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been elected by members of the Human Rights Council as the Council’s 18th President. Ever since its establishment in 2006, Morocco has been a staunch and active supporter of the Council. I am likewise a firm believer in the Council’s crucial …
In December 2022, upon his election as President of the Human Rights Council, H.E. Václav Bálek outlined his ‘3P’ priorities : ‘prevention, participation, and progress in efficiency.’ He acknowledged the increase in the Council’s workloads over recent years and the strain this had placed on the Council’s capacity to effectively fulfil its mandate. To address the situation, Bálek appointed H.E. Maira Mariela Macdonal …
An independent analysis of the Push for Pledges campaign of the Human Rights 75 Initiative December 2023 marks the 75th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an anniversary that the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights has been commemorating throughout the year, culminating in a two-day high-level event held on 11 and 12 December 2023. …
On 12 October 2023, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) made history at the Human Rights Council. Not only did they present for adoption their first joint initiative at the Council since its establishment, but they also presented the first item 10 resolution (A/HRC/RES/54/33) that seeks the establishment of a regional office of the Office of …
On 10 October 2023, the UN General Assembly (GA) convened in New York to elect new members of the Human Rights Council for the term 2024-2026. Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were duly elected. As soon as the votes were cast and the new members announced, …
On 10 October 2023, the UN General Assembly (GA) convened in New York to elect 15 new members of the Human Rights Council for the term 2024-2026. One key question arising from the election, as every year, is whether voting members of the GA were guided when casting their ballots by bilateral considerations or by human rights principles – in …
The United Nations’ top human rights body is facing a test. Its outcome will have major implications for its credibility. This October, the Human Rights Council (HRC) might readmit Russia, which it suspended just more than a year ago, as a member. At the opening of the next UN General Assembly session, all 193 UN member states, including 54 African states, …
September will mark one year since Volker Türk’s appointment as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after his predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, chose not to continue for a second term (no High Commissioner has served out two full terms). It is fair to say that the choice of Türk, widely predicted by UN insiders due to his close relationship with the …
For the past decade, the Human Rights Council has, at regular intervals, grappled with the question of how to make its work more efficient, including through the rationalisation of initiatives, mandates, general debates, and panels, and through ‘technical fixes’ such as reducing speaking times. These efficiency drives have tended to come as a consequence of sporadic yet growing concern that …
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 …
