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 …
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 …
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 …
If you follow the work of the United Nations (UN) you may have already discovered that 2015 seems to be the year for the ‘development’ pillar of the organisation. Three main agreements are expected to be adopted until the end of the year and the complexity of the negotiations are increased by the interconnectedness amongst them. The first agreement is …
En 2016, le Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU célèbrera son dixième anniversaire. Bien que celui-ci ne sera pas accompagné d’un examen formel de son travail et de son fonctionnement, contrairement au cap des 5 ans d’existence du Conseil, il représente une importante opportunité de faire le point sur l’organe des Nations Unies et sur ses accomplissements et échecs. …
In 2016 the UN Human Rights Council will celebrate its tenth birthday. Although the anniversary—unlike the Council’s five-year mark—will not be accompanied by any formal review of its work and functioning, it represents an important opportunity to take stock of the UN body’s achievements and failures. And what is immediately clear is that although the Council is good at debating …
The 28th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC28) saw a number of developments with highly significant implications for the future of the Special Procedures mechanism, the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the UN’s human rights protection system. Some of these developments were undoubtedly positive and in line with the recommendations put forward in the recent Universal Rights Group-Brookings Institution policy report on Special Procedures . Others, with potential implications …
Casual observers of the Human Rights Council may have been forgiven, in the run up to the body’s 28th session (2nd to 27th March), for a degree of bafflement at repeated and sometimes quite excitable references to a three letter acronym: JIU. The reason for all the excitement was the publication of a report by the JIU (Joint Inspection Unit – the UN system’s independent external oversight …
The 28th session of the Human Rights Council marks the end of the initial three-year term of the mandate of the Independent Expert on human rights and the environment . Over the past year, in my capacity as the Independent Expert, I have focused on identifying, promoting and exchanging views on good practices relating to the use of human rights obligations to inform, support and strengthen environmental policymaking. …
Thursday, 29th January 2015, Geneva When the Human Rights Council was established in 2006 following a decision of UN Heads of State, its founders envisioned it as a body with a core mandate to ‘address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon.’ Nine years on, state enthusiasm for the Council continues to grow …
