The Human Rights Council is the main intergovernmental body within the United Nations (UN) system responsible for “promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all” and for addressing human rights violations, including gross and systematic violations. The Council was created on 15 March 2006 by UN General Assembly (GA) resolution 60/251 , which decided “to establish the Human Rights …
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 …
This article was originally published on Open Global Rights on February 1, 2024. The original article is accessible here . The UN Human Rights Council’s recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a political declaration that paves the way to establishing its legal meaning. In October 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) passed a …
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 …
As 2023 draws to a close, and as thoughts turn to family, holidays and, for some of us, mince pies, Santa Claus, and a glass of sherry or two (well, at least one of those anyway), it is worth reflecting on the year just ending. What were the key political currents that shaped events at the Council? What did the …
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 …
Quick summary The 54th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC54) was held from Monday 11th September to Friday 13th October 2023. On 11 September, the High Commissioner Volker Türk opened HRC54 by presenting a global update on the situation of human rights in the world. In his intervention, the High Commissioner focused on the links between development and …
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, …
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 …
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 …
