An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council , held from February 28 to March 3 2022, saw the active participation of more than 120 world leaders, including six heads or deputy heads of State, five heads or deputy heads of Government, and 107 ministers or vice-ministers. In the statements delivered …
Early November will be an extremely engaging experience for the United States of America, with an election that will determine the future of American democracy. Equally exhilarating, one week later, will be the opportunity the world will have to cast its vote during a 3.5 hour peer review of the US’ human rights record during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) …
Even before the outbreak of the current COVID-19 pandemic, commentary on the worldwide human rights situation was characterised, to a large degree, by negative assertions of an unfolding human rights crisis. Powered by influential voices at the UN, as well as by civil society and the media, the general public narrative was often one of backsliding in the world’s major …
Geneva, 20 February 2020 It is a very special honour for me to preside over the Human Rights Council during this year, and I am fully aware of the responsibility I have assumed from my predecessor. The Human Rights Council is unique in many ways. Unlike many other UN bodies, the Council provides a place where States and civil society …
‘The Human Rights Council in 2019’ report aims to provide, inter alia: A written analysis of the main events and development at the Council in 2019. Data on the quantitative evolution of the Council’s work in 2019, as well as since the body’s establishment in 2006. This includes the number of resolutions adopted; the number of voted resolutions; the number …
Over the past seventy years, United Nations (UN) member States have elaborated and adopted eight ‘core’ international human rights treaties. Together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these conventions provide the normative and legal backbone of the UN human rights system. Since their adoption, the number of States choosing to ratify and thus become Party to those treaties has …
There is a crisis in the United Nations human-rights system. Secretary-General António Guterres can lead the way out of it. Indeed, the world continues to look to the UN secretary-general to stand up for the principles of the organisation. One of the highest responsibilities of the incumbent is to help steer a course toward realising UN goals in the areas …
An independent analysis of the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council At the opening of the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, nearly one hundred world leaders (e.g. presidents, prime ministers, ministers) delivered high level speeches commenting on the state of global human rights in 2018, and presenting their country’s priorities for the year ahead. The Universal Rights …
9th October, London The third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) began in April of this year and will continue until 2021. At the end of the second cycle, the then President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Choi Kyong-lim, delivered a video message calling on member States to ‘ensure that the third cycle is one of follow-up and implementation’. Earlier this …
One of the leading human rights defender organisations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is called ‘Voice of the Voiceless.’ And those who lack the influence and resources to resist oppression are, in fact, those who need the protection of the international community the most. The Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was established to promote human rights, …
