Quick summary: The 38th regular session of the Human Rights Council ( HRC38) was held from Monday 18th June to Friday 6th July 2018. On 18th June, H.E. Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, presented his last oral update as High Commissioner for Human Rights on the global human rights situation. His successor is expected to be selected by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over …
In a 2017 post on this site, Christof Heyns and Willem Gravett proposed the idea of external sessions for the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies – they should meet at least once a year for part of the session outside Geneva, in order to ‘bring the system closer to the people’. This idea generated considerable interest, including in the recent report by the Geneva …
Earlier this month, on World Environment Day, the Executive Director of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, and I jointly stated that the historic moment has arrived for the United Nations to recognise the human right to a healthy environment at the global level. The fundamental UN human rights treaties do not include this right because the modern environmental movement began in the late 1960s, …
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 …
Desde hace mucho tiempo se debería haber reconocido globalmente el derecho a un medio ambiente saludable. Ahora están surgiendo oportunidades para hacerlo, lo que brindaría un apoyo crucial a los activistas medioambientales amenazados. En marzo de 2016, intrusos armados tiraron abajo la puerta de la casa donde se estaba quedando la activista medioambiental hondureña Berta Cáceres, de 44 años, y la mataron. Para entonces, Cáceres, cofundadora …
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 …
Currently, Latin America is the most deadly region in the world to be an environmental defender. IUCN NL and other partners recently held a meeting in Bogota, Colombia, centered on improving the safety of these defenders. Attendee and IUCN NL Environmental Justice Expert, Liliana Jauregui, learnt that we need to take action on three levels; Protection mechanisms on the ground, sharing …
A response to David Petrasek’s article in OpenGlobaRights entitled ‘ Another one bites the dust ’ (8 February 2018). David Petrasek’s recent article on the early departure of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, provides an extremely timely insight into the under-the-surface tensions and dynamics that help explain Zeid’s decision to step down. The article also offers clues as to what needs to happen …
En nombre de la Junta Directiva y del personal de Universal Rights Group, me gustaría expresar nuestra profunda conmoción y pesar por el fallecimiento de nuestra estimada miembro de la Junta Fundadora, Asma Jahangir. Asma había sido una importante fuente de orientación y sabiduría en nuestro trabajo durante los últimos cinco años. Ella también ha sido, por supuesto, una inspiración …
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 …
