Quick summary The 34th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC34) was held from Monday 27th February to Friday 24th March 2017. On 8th March, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, H.E. Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, presented his annual report on the global human rights situation. A number of dignitaries delivered statements during the session’s high-level segment, including inter alia, H.E. …
‘Discrimination’ (racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance); ‘human rights, the Sustainable Development Goals and the right to development;’ the rights of migrants and refugees; prevention; the ‘Implementation Agenda;’ violent extremism, radicalisation and terrorism; and women’s rights; among most frequently referenced subjects during 2017 high-level segment of the Human Rights Council High-level segments (HLS) of the UN Human Rights Council (Council), held …
A comparative analysis of Council and Third Committee resolutions The relationship between the Third Committee of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council sometimes appears not dissimilar to that of two brothers. Like brothers, for the most part, these two key UN human rights bodies get on well, with both understanding that they are part of the same family …
One of the key missions of the Universal Rights Group (URG) is to improve the transparency and accessibility of the work of the Human Rights Council and the wider international human rights system. By providing a window onto the work and decisions of the human rights system, the URG hopes to contribute to better, more accountable and more efficient policymaking; …
2016 witnessed the 50th anniversary for a vital legacy for international human rights work, namely the adoption of the 1966 Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights. I would argue that the legacy from 1967 may be of equal relevance for today. In 2017, we face another highly pertinent 50th anniversary even if it …
On Wednesday 14 December, in view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation and ‘grave human rights crisis’ in South Sudan, a Special Session was convened on ‘the human rights situation in South Sudan.’ [1] The Special Session was requested, via an official letter on 9 December 2016, written by H.E. Ambassador Filloreta Kodra of Albania, H.E. Ambassador Juan Esteban Aguirre Martinez of Paraguay, H.E. Ambassador Julian …
According to the preamble of the Constitution of Georgia, it is the will of all Georgian citizens to establish a democratic social order that guarantees respect for human rights – not in isolation – but through continued cooperation with other peaceful nations. Respect for fundamental human rights therefore represents not only an integral part of Georgia’s legal and political reality, …
The international human rights system has expanded significantly over the past twenty years, both in terms of new human rights treaties, as well as the mechanisms established to monitor and advise States on human rights promotion and protection. It has empowered individuals worldwide, including the most marginalised and disadvantaged, to claim their rights and seek redress. At the same time …
“The decision facing us today is a decision on the relationship between the Council and the UN General Assembly.” — Delegation of Singapore to the UN On Monday 21st November, towards the end of a particularly eventful session of the Third Committee of the General Assembly (see related URG blog ), UN member States took the historically important decision to respect …
Friday 18th November 2016, UN headquarters, New York On 15th November Oxford English Dictionaries declared ‘post-truth’ to be its international word of the year. Defined by the dictionary as an adjective ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief,’ Oxford Dictionaries said use of the …
