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UN Human Rights Council

What is the Human Rights Council?
On 15 March 2006, the General Assembly agreed to establish a new Human Rights Council. The Council replaces the Human Rights Commission, a body which had been labelled as 'discredited' following the election to the Commission of a number of member states with a poor human rights record. On the creation of the Human Rights Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan commented that he is "confident that the Council will breathe new life into all our work for human rights, and thereby help to improve the lives of millions of people throughout the world".

What functions will the Council perform?
The Council will serve as the main United Nations forum for dialogue and cooperation on human rights.  Its focus will be to help member states meet their human rights obligations through dialogue, capacity building, and technical assistance.  The Council will also make recommendations to the General Assembly for further development of international law in the field of human rights.

How does the new Human Rights Council differ from the Human Rights Commission?
Key features of The Council that differ from the previous Commission on Human Rights are that: the Council comprises 47 members, as opposed to 53; Council members are elected by the GA by absolute majority (96 votes); prospective candidates' human rights contributions are considered; and elected members must commit to the highest human rights standards. Prospective candidates need to make assurances to protect human rights, while a Council member can be suspended if the GA decides by two-thirds majority that it has grossly violated human rights. The Council meets at least three times a year for a minimum of ten weeks, can convene to address urgent situations, and can hold special sessions; the Commission met in one annual six-week session. The Council also conducts a universal periodic review of each UN member state’s fulfilment of its human rights obligations.

Which nations are members of the Council?
The first elections to the Human Rights Council took place in the UN General Assembly in New York on 9 May 2006. 47 countries were elected for terms of between one and three years. The second round of elections took place on 17 May 2007. Click here to see a list of the new Council members, as well as a list of all candidate countries and their human rights pledges.

How can I find out more about the Council?
The two main official UN portals for finding out about the Human Rights Council are the UN News Centre's site, and the OHCHR site. You can also read the UNA-UK summaries of the Human Rights Council sessions by clicking here.

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Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

What is OHCHR?
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is a department of the United Nations Secretariat mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realisation, by all people, of all rights established in the Charter of the United Nations and in international human rights laws and treaties (click on the box on the right for more information). The mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the United Nations, and strengthening and streamlining the United Nations system in the field of human rights. In addition to its mandated responsibilities, the Office leads efforts to integrate a human rights approach within all work carried out by United Nations agencies. Click here to read about the organisation structure of OHCHR.

Who is the High Commissioner for Human Rights?
Louise Arbour, formerly a Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada Justice and Chief Prosecutor of War Crimes before the International Criminal Tribulan for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the Hague, was appointed High Commissioner in July 2004.

The High Commissioner for Human rights, who has the rank of Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, heads the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The post of High Commissioner was established in December 1993 by a General Assembly resolution, in accordance with a recommendation contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The resolution specifies that the High Commissioner is the principal United Nations official responsible for United Nations human rights activities, and that the High Commissioner performs his/her duties under the direction and authority of the Secretary-General. The resolution gives the High Commissioner the broad mandate to promote and protect all human rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural. See the box on the right for details of previous High Commissioners.

How can I find out more about OHCHR?
The OHCHR website has a host of information relating to field activities and international law.

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Treaty Bodies

What are treaty bodies?
The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties (see box on the right). They are created in accordance with the provisions of the treaty that they monitor.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966;

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965;

What is treaty body reform?
With the proliferation of international covenants and conventions – many of which overlap – the ability of the treaty bodies to keep up with their responsibilities has become more difficult, not least because many states find it hard to submit their various reports on time. This, and other problems, have led to the call for the reform of the treaty body system.

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Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council

What is Special Procedures?
“Special procedures” is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Commission on Human Rights to address either specific country situations or thematic issues. The special procedures are a way for the Commission, and now the Council, to be constantly engaged on an issue of concern throughout the year. Although they may be constituted in any manner, special procedures commonly are either an individual, called a special rapporteur or representative or an independent expert, or a group of individuals, called a working group.

An individual who serves as a special rapporteur, representative, independent expert or member of a working group is appointed by the Council after consultation with the five regional groups, which consist of Member States of the Commission. The special procedures are independent, are not paid and serve in a personal capacity for a maximum of 6 years. Currently there are over 41 special procedures mechanisms.

Although the mandates given to special procedure mechanisms vary, they usually are to examine, monitor, advise, and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories, known as country mandates, or on major phenomena of human rights violations worldwide, known as thematic mandates. Various activities can be undertaken by special procedures, including conducting studies, providing advice on technical cooperation, responding to individual complaints, and engaging in general promotional activities.

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