As the Human Rights Council enters its teenage years, the Council’s ‘prevention mandate’—i.e., its responsibility to ‘contribute, through dialogue and cooperation, towards the prevention of human rights violations and [to] respond promptly to human rights emergencies’ [1] —has become one of the hot topics of discussion. Operationalising the prevention part of the Council’s mandate was the central theme of the last …
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 …
Polarisation and politicisation at the United Nations – words on the mind of every diplomat and international activist working on human rights. More often than not in debates and decisions at the Human Right Council, group dynamics come into play, often masking differences or commonalities in national positions. For example, a country that normally supports sexuality education may reverse its …
Esta semana, la Secretaría del Consejo de Derechos Humanos lanzó un sitio web nuevo y mejorado que, en palabras de ellos, ofrece una “nueva apariencia y navegación mejorada”. Pero la verdad es que es mucho más eso. Las nuevas características ofrecidas por el este novedoso portal del Consejo representan un esfuerzo para acercar este órgano a sus partes interesadas y …
This week, the Human Rights Council’s Secretariat launched a new and improved website, which offers a ‘ new look & feel and improved navigation ’. But the truth is there is much more than meets the eye. The new features offered by the Council’s new portal represent an effort towards bringing the Council closer to its stakeholders and people on the ground; therefore, it contributes to enhancing …
La partida prematura, una vez más, de un Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos sugiere que es hora de reconsiderar las prioridades de la oficina y fortalecer su mandato. Cuando, en diciembre de 2017, el Príncipe Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein de Jordania anunció que no buscaría un segundo mandato como Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los …
5 February 2018, Geneva It has been almost seventy years since the nations of the world adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the preamble of which reminds all of us that the ‘recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace …
There is a growing recognition that as the Human Rights Council approaches its twelfth anniversary there is a need to undertake an inclusive, cross regional and structured dialogue to review how States might strengthen the fulfilment of the Council’s mandate and purpose, as set down in GA resolution 60/251 . Following an important event organised by the Netherlands, UK, Latvia, Rwanda and Mexico on …
On Tuesday 5th December, the Human Rights Council (Council) held a special session on the ‘human rights situation of the minority Rohingya Muslim population and other minorities in the Rakhine State of Myanmar’. The special Session was requested on 28 November 2017, via two official letters written by H.E Mr Shameem Ahsan, Ambassador of Bangladesh; and H.E Dr Abdulaziz Alwasil, Ambassador of Saudi …
On 18th and 19th November, the Universal Rights Group (URG GVA & URG LAC) and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights of Columbia University (ISHR) hosted a two-day expert consultation at Columbia University. The meeting convened former Special Procedures mandate-holders on economic, social, and cultural rights; as well as key stakeholders of these mandates, including civil society representatives, …
