Is UN Secretary-General António Guterres committed to human rights?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

Much of the criticism of UN SG Guterres for his “silence” on human rights is misplaced—he is rather making a good faith effort, alongside High Commissioner Bachelet, to balance the public and private diplomacy aspects of his mandate. Is Secretary-General António Guterres really committed to human rights? That’s a question that has been vexing diplomats, civil society representatives and journalists …

Posicionando el Consejo de Derechos Humanos en el centro de la agenda de prevención de las Naciones Unidas: Un breve análisis del informe del Grupo de Expertos Eminentes sobre ‘la contribución del Consejo de Derechos Humanos a la Prevención’

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

Desde el estabelecimiento de las Naciones Unidas en 1946, la Organización ha reconocido la importancia y el valor central de la prevención y ha declarado su determinación de colocar ese enfoque en el centro de su actuación. De hecho, las primeras palabras de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas dejan evidente que la misión primordial de la ONU es prevenir …

UN peace and security reform: an update

by URG-NYC Team Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

This post is the third in a series of blogs produced by the URG-NYC team to take stock of the implementation of the UN reforms, which were adopted in the past 18 months. This post covers reforms to the peace and security pillar.  Objectives All of the reforms are intended, to varying degrees, to modernise the UN, to streamline and …

The human rights implications of the new UN Resident Coordinator system

by Rodrigo Saad, former Universal Rights Group - NYC Human rights implementation and impact

In 2017, Secretary General António Guterres unveiled extensive plans to reform the United Nations Development System (UNDS). His proposal, which coincides with parallel measures to restructure the UN’s peace and security architecture and revise its management paradigm, is part of a broader agenda to make prevention a cross-pillar priority. More specifically, the repositioning of the UNDS seeks to foster an …