Video
The Prevention Council
3 February 2020
For the UN’s prevention agenda to work, it is vital to build a business case for placing human rights at its heart.
URG Insights
‘Even if they contain misinformation…’: how government inaction and interference on social media could mean the hijacking of an election
by Jenna Lanoil, Universal Rights Group NYC
‘I know that I have blood on my hands,’ Sophie Zhang, a former Facebook data scientist wrote in a memo about her time with Facebook. Zhang claims that Facebook allowed for heads of state and political parties from around the world to misrepresent themselves through fake accounts and to spread disinformation. She cites in particular an operation by the Azerbaijanian Government to influence the re-election of President Ilham Aliyev. Zhang claims that not only did Facebook fail to take down fraudulent accounts connected to the operation but, instead, took down the accounts of human rights activists, when the activist accounts…
previous URG Insights
Report on the 45th session of the Human Rights Council
by the URG team
Quick summary The 45th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC45) was held from Monday 14th September to Wednesday 7th October 2020. On 14th September, H.E. Ms. Michelle Bachelet, presented her oral update on the global human rights situation. In the wake of the violent response by the Belarusian authorities to peaceful demonstrations that occurred in the aftermath of President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election on 9 August 2020, the Council held an urgent debate on 18 September focused on the ‘situation of human rights in Belarus.’ Three panel discussions were held during the session. More than 84 reports under the Council’s…
URG welcomes passage of landmark new UN resolution on prevention
by the URG team
Wednesday 7th October 2020, Geneva The Universal Rights Group (URG) welcomes today’s passage of an important new Human Rights Council resolution on the prevention of human rights violations and emergencies. The resolution, led by Norway, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and Uruguay, was adopted by vote at the 45th session of the Council with 32 in favour, 11 abstentions and 3 against (Bahrain, Cameroon and Venezuela). The resolution covers all aspects of the Council’s hitherto unused prevention mandate, as provided by the UN General Assembly with its resolution 60/251 (and specifically paragraph 5f thereof), covering both primary (or ‘upstream’) prevention, and secondary…
What are the world’s human rights priorities in 2020, and what to look out for in 2021?
by Danica Damplo, Universal Rights Group NYC
Human rights analysis of high-level speeches during the general debate of the UN General Assembly Each fall, world leaders descend upon New York to speak at the general debate of the UN General Assembly (GA). This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, world leaders were invited to send in pre-recorded videos of their speeches which were broadcast ‘as live.’ The world’s presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and assorted dignitaries were allotted fifteen minutes each (though this is more a guideline than an enforced rule) to discuss global crises and trends, how those crises and trends affect their countries, and what the…
Using digital technology to systematically violate the right to vote: How the Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign used AI to suppress the votes of Black Americans
by Danica Damplo, Universal Rights Group NYC
29th September 2020 On 28 September, the UK’s Channel 4 News revealed that it had obtained a data cache used by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, which contained evidence that the campaign had sought to digital technology to deter 3.5 million Black Americans by targeting them with tailored, negative ads. While digital tools and social media platforms can in principle strengthen the enjoyment of civil and political rights; too often, as URG Director Marc Limon recently argued in this blog, it has been those who wish to use technology to tighten control, promote narrow self-interest, and undermine human rights who…
latest policy report
The sixth annual yourHRC.org Guide to the Human Rights Council elections provides comprehensive at-a-glance information on the 2020 Council elections (tentatively scheduled to take place…
previous policy reports
The human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic: A summary of the RightOn web chat series
The COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty it has brought have upended our lives. One consequence has been that many parts of the UN have not…7th meeting of the Istanbul Process
On 18-19 November 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the support of the Universal Rights Group (URG) hosted…A World Made New: Beyond COVID-19 to a low-carbon, resilient and inclusive world
In the midst of the COVID-19 public health emergency and economic crisis, as we yearn for the social contact and cultural activities that define our…The Prevention Council: The business case for placing human rights at the heart of the UN’s prevention agenda
UN efforts over the past thirty years to shift its approach to crises and conflicts from reaction to prevention have largely failed for two main…URG next event
Pre-Glion policy dialogue with Mission of Iceland: ‘Putting digital technology at the service of equality and non-discrimination, including in the area of economic, social and cultural rights’
Public event
Ahead of Glion VII, the Universal Rights Group (URG), with a number of supportive State delegations, will organise a series of informal policy dialogues designed to allow early consideration and exchange on different aspects of ‘human rights in the digital age.' On Tuesday October 20th at 1:30PM the Permanent Mission of Iceland to the UN ...future events
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20 Oct 2020
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21 Oct 2020
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30 Oct 2020
past events
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08 Oct 2020
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07 Oct 2020
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30 Sep 2020
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09 Sep 2020
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09 Jul 2020
The Istanbul Process is the dedicated mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of the action plan set out in Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 on combatting intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.
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