From 7th to 11th March, Universal Rights Group (URG), together with the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands and World Press Photo, was pleased to begin a project to showcase the real-world impact of important Human Rights Council initiatives, using the medium of photography. Between those dates, URG brought five press photographers to attend and photograph the 31st session of the UN Human …
The 31st session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) is a significant marker: not only will the HRC celebrate its 10th birthday, but the session will mark five years since the adoption of resolution 16/18 on “combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief .” In the current geopolitical context, the consensus that underpins resolution 16/18 is increasingly precarious, despite being more important than ever. In March, the HRC will consider …
The long-overdue shift in U.S.-Cuba relations—formally initiated on December 17, 2014 2014, when both countries agreed at the highest political level to resume formal relations—advances their shared interests and over time may position them to work together toward a more cooperative future. So far, the two countries have made modest progress in advancing this new rapprochement: diplomatic relations were officially restored; bilateral …
2016 has begun, as all New Years should, with hope and optimism – and a common resolve to build a safer and better world for ourselves and our children. Regrettably though, if we look at the facts on the ground, little seems to have changed since last year, when the human exodus from Syria, terrorist attacks in major world cities, …
Later today (17th December), the UN Human Rights Council will hold a Special (i.e. emergency) Session on ‘preventing the further deterioration of the human rights situation in Burundi.’ The Session comes against a backdrop of escalating violence, political turmoil, and gross and increasingly systematic human rights violations in the central African country. And yet, in just over two week’s time, …
The weeks after a Human Rights Council session are a good time for reflection, a moment to take a step back and refocus. It is now almost one year since I took over as Head of the European Union Delegation to the UN here in Geneva, and much has happened during that time. For me, Geneva represents many things, but …
Size matters in international relations. Small States do not perform any fundamentally irreplaceable role in the international system; yet it is hard to imagine a world without big countries such as the United States, China, India, Russia, Indonesia and Brazil, or even without medium-sized States like Japan, South Africa and Germany. The only viable strategic response for small States is …
When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke for the last time to the Commission on Human Rights he emphasised that “the era of declaration is now giving way, as it should, to an era of implementation.” [1] In the past, human rights implementation was often narrowly understood to mean passing a law and securing a favourable judicial decision. Of course, laws and …
In October 2013, before taking office as the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office in Geneva, I led the Chinese delegation that participated in our second cycle review under the Universal Periodical Review (UPR). The review took place, of course, in Room 20 of the Palais des Nations, and I was deeply impressed by the colourful ceiling designed by the …
Late last month at the UN, representatives of all member states gathered to discuss how they would review and monitor progress once implementation of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda begins. For the members of the Post-2015 Human Rights Caucus , pursuing accountability for post-2015 commitments is a priority, given its centrality to human rights practice and the stark failure to promote accountability in the context of the MDGs . Therefore members of the Caucus – and many …
