Much has been written over recent months, including in Foreign Policy magazine, OpenGlobalRights and URG Insights , about the multifaceted mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the acute challenges involved in asking one person to fulfil all parts of that mandate, some of which appear to exist in mutual-tension. In particular, these articles argued that the expectation that the High Commissioner …
Human rights analysis of high level speeches at the General Debate at the UN General Assembly What are the human rights situations and issues world leaders have on the brain in 2018, and what will they be prioritizing over the next twelve months? The best place to get a sense of both is the general debate of the UN General …
Newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, gave a statement at a High-Level Event during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, marking the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “A Prevention Tool to Achieve Peace and Sustainable Development.” She said: “Human rights are the interlocking elements that build resilient and confident societies – societies …
On 12 October 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will hold elections for 18 seats on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a three-year term starting on 1 January 2019. All five UN regional groups have clean slates – in which the number of candidates is equal to the number of vacant seats. [1] These clean slates turn the election into …
Como argumenta Suzanne Nossel en su excelente artículo recientemente publicado en la revista Foreign Policy (‘ El trabajo del jefe de derechos humanos de la ONU no es lo que piensas ‘, 9 de agosto), el regocijo general entre los defensores de los derechos humanos por el nombramiento de Michelle Bachelet como la próxima Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos debería dar paso rápidamente a “una reevaluación exhaustiva del papel de la Alta Comisionada y …
As Suzanne Nossel argues in her excellent recent article in Foreign Policy magazine (‘ The job of UN human rights chief isn’t what you think ,’ 9 August), the general rejoicing among human rights advocates at the appointment of Michelle Bachelet as the next High Commissioner for Human Rights, should quickly give way to ‘a searching reassessment of the role of the High Commissioner and a commitment to steps that will …
In March 2018, a coalition of some 60 NGOs, led by the Universal Rights Group, the UN Association of the UK, and Human Rights House Foundation, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, encouraging him to enhance the selection procedure for the new High Commissioner for Human Rights. The sponsors of the letter argued that the process used …
In his final address to the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein highlighted a growing sense of weariness within the international human rights community; a growing fear that the UN’s human rights pillar is being marginalized. Given the global state of affairs, from rising nationalism, xenophobia, and racial and religious intolerance to clampdowns on civil …
On 1st July, Universal Rights Group New York (URG NYC) was formally incorporated, with the primary aims of strengthening URG’s engagement with States, UN officials and NGOs active at UN headquarters, and more effectively covering and analyzing developments in key New York-based UN bodies and organizations, including the General Assembly (especially the Third Committee), the Security Council, the High Level …
The Universal Rights Group is pleased to announce that renowned human rights expert Pablo de Greiff (Colombia) has joined the organisation’s Board of Trustees upon the invitation of the Board. Pablo de Greiff has over 20 years experience in global policy development of country level initiatives to prevent and recover from mass atrocities and human rights violations. His work focuses …
