In September 2018, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 39/22 , on ‘Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in the Sudan.’ No one should be fooled by its title: this latest iteration of the Council’s Sudan-focused resolutions was, in the words of Human Rights Watch, ‘an abdication of the Council’s responsibility to human rights victims in Sudan while grave …
Since the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow jail cell in 2009, US financier turned anti-corruption activist Bill Browder has led an almost one man crusade to strengthen national legal frameworks and responses to alleged gross violations of human rights and/or cases of grand corruption (which are linked to serious human rights violations ). Over the intervening ten years, Mr Browder’s determination and …
On 31 May 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 72/279 , accepting measures for change along the lines of the Secretary General’s recommendations and setting in motion one of the most comprehensive reforms of the UN Development System (UNDS) to date. This post provides an update on these reforms and is the first in a series of blogs produced …
On April 3rd the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, addressed the Security Council on the “Human Rights Situation in Haiti.” She marked the progress made so far on human rights, highlighted areas of persistent violations, and advised on how the Security Council can strengthen the rule of law, development, and peace during the proposed transition of UN operations in …
Uno de los desarrollos más prometedores y sin embargo menos estudiados y menos entendidos en cuanto al “proyecto” de derechos humanos universales (como lo nombró Sir Nigel Rodley), el cual ha venido emergiendo y desarrollándose lentamente en los últimos tres o cuatro años, es el que se denomina como “mecanismos nacionales de presentaciones de informes y de seguimiento”(NMIRFs). Estas instituciones, …
One of the most promising yet least-studied and least-understood developments for the universal human rights ‘project’ (as Sir Nigel Rodley coined it) is the emergence and early development over the past three or four years of so-called ‘national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up’ (NMIRFs). These standing bodies, which usually enjoy high-level political backing, are responsible for coordinating the implementation, …
Quick summary The 40th regular session of the Human Rights Council ( HRC40) was held from Monday 25 February to Friday 22 March 2019. As it is the main annual session of the Council, HRC40 began with a High-Level Segment (HLS). The 2019 HLS included speeches by 97 State and other dignitaries, including: H.E. Béji Caïd Essebi, President of Tunisia; H.E. …
The United Nations System-wide Gender Parity Strategy sets targets for equal representation of men and women in the United Nations, and also advises on recruitment and retention practices. All secretariat units have developed their own implementation plans for the strategy, setting objectives for themselves to achieve parity at all levels. This strategy is being implemented alongside wider UN reforms that deal with the UN’s management system, and reconstituting …
In 2017, Secretary General António Guterres unveiled extensive plans to reform the United Nations Development System (UNDS). His proposal, which coincides with parallel measures to restructure the UN’s peace and security architecture and revise its management paradigm, is part of a broader agenda to make prevention a cross-pillar priority. More specifically, the repositioning of the UNDS seeks to foster an …
On March 11th, at UN headquarters in New York City, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet gave her first address to the Security Council in her capacity as High Commissioner for Human Rights. She spoke at an Arria-Formula meeting, on the topic of “human rights, accountability, and justice: contributions to international peace and security” (watch it here ). The High Commissioner briefed the Security …
