Guide to the 2021 Human Rights Council Elections

by Mariana Montoya International human rights institutions, mechanisms and processes, Policy reports

Guide to the 2021 Human Rights Council Elections

The seventh annual yourHRC.org Guide to the Human Rights Council elections provides comprehensive at-a-glance information on the 2021 Council elections (tentatively scheduled to take place in October at the General Assembly in New York), when States from all regions will compete to win seats for new three-year membership terms (2022-2024). In particular, the Guide aims to promote transparency and accountability …

Human rights in the digital age: Making digital technology work for human rights

by Geneva Asuntos contemporáneos y emergentes, Bajo la lupa: democracia, Policy reports, Reportes

Human rights in the digital age: Making digital technology work for human rights

The seventh  Glion Human Rights Dialogue (Glion VII), organised by the Governments of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and the Universal Rights Group (URG), in partnership with the Permanent Missions of Fiji, Iceland, Mexico, the Seychelles and Thailand, was held on 3-4 December 2020 and considered the topic: ‘Human rights in the digital age: Making digital technology work for human rights.’ In particular the Glion VII …

Building a coherent Human Rights Council-Security Council relationship – The prevention of human rights crises, violent conflict and atrocity crimes

by the URG team Instituciones, procesos y mecanismos de derechos humanos internacionales, Policy reports, Reportes

Building a coherent Human Rights Council-Security Council relationship – The prevention of human rights crises, violent conflict and atrocity crimes

In her first address to the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) Third Committee as High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2018, Michelle Bachelet urged States to remember that ‘the human rights system is not a Cassandra, correctly predicting crises yet unable to prevent them. It is a force for prevention. When it is backed by the political will of key …

#El Momento Es Ahora – El caso para el reconocimiento universal del derecho a un ambiente sin riesgos, limpio, saludable y sostenible

by Geneva Policy reports, Reportes

#El Momento Es Ahora – El caso para el reconocimiento universal del derecho a un ambiente sin riesgos, limpio, saludable y sostenible

Este nuevo informe de políticas públicas cuenta la historia de los debates internacionales sobre derechos humanos y medio ambiente, derechos humanos y cambio climático, y el impulso por el derecho a un medio ambiente seguro, limpio, saludable y sostenible (R2E), describiendo los amplios contornos normativos de tal derecho, y explicando los beneficios, para la humanidad, el medio ambiente y el …

#The time is now – The case for universal recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

by Professor John H. Knox Contemporary and emerging human rights issues, Policy reports, Reportes

#The time is now – The case for universal recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

This new policy report tells the story of international discussions on human rights and environment, human rights and climate change, and the push for the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment (R2E), describing the broad normative contours of such a right, and explaining the benefits, for humanity, the environment and the climate, that would accrue from universal recognition. …

OSLO+Digital – International support for the national implementation of UN human rights recommendations, including as a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals during the COVID-19 pandemic

by Geneva Bajo la lupa: implementación nacional de normas universales, Policy reports, Reportes

OSLO+Digital – International support for the national implementation of UN human rights recommendations, including as a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals during the COVID-19 pandemic

On 9 and 10 June 2020, the Permanent Missions of Denmark and The Netherlands to the UN in Geneva, in cooperation with the Universal Rights Group (URG), convened a digital meeting of bilateral and multilateral development partners on how international cooperation could be better leveraged to support the national implementation of international human rights obligations and commitments, in particular in …

The Human Rights Council in 2020

by Geneva Instituciones, procesos y mecanismos de derechos humanos internacionales, Policy reports, Reportes

The Human Rights Council in 2020

What were the main developments, achievements and flash-points at the Human Rights Council in 2020? What were the Council’s principle outputs and what kind of impact did the body and its mechanisms have on the on-the-ground enjoyment of human rights? Did members of the Council cooperate with the international human rights mechanisms, and with OHCHR, over the past twelve months? Does …

Realizing rights, changing lives: The impact of the United Nations human rights system on the enjoyment of children’s rights

by Geneva Bajo la lupa: implementación nacional de normas universales, Más allá del Consejo, Policy reports, Reportes

Realizing rights, changing lives: The impact of the United Nations human rights system on the enjoyment of children’s rights

The international community has invested enormous time and energy in building the international human rights system over the past 70 years. Yet for as long as that system has existed, commentators have questioned the degree to which it is capable of, and is succeeding in, securing real-world change – i.e. demonstrable improvements in the on-the-ground enjoyment of human rights. According …

Guide to the 2020 Human Rights Council Elections

by the URG team Instituciones, procesos y mecanismos de derechos humanos internacionales, Policy reports

Guide to the 2020 Human Rights Council Elections

The sixth annual yourHRC.org Guide to the Human Rights Council elections provides comprehensive at-a-glance information on the 2020 Council elections (tentatively scheduled to take place on 13 October at the General Assembly in New York), when States from all regions will compete to win seats for new three-year membership terms (2021-2023). In particular, the Guide aims to promote transparency and …

The human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic: A summary of the RightOn web chat series

by the URG team

The human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic:  A summary of the RightOn web chat series
The COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty it has brought have upended our lives. One consequence has been that many parts of the UN have not been able to meet – dealing a blow to multilateral diplomacy, including in the human rights sphere.
Against that background, in March 2020, a group of partners came together to ‘keep the conversation going’ in the area of human rights during the lock-down, by launching the ‘RightOn’ Wednesday web chat. Each week, these web chats brought together representatives of the international human rights community, as well as members of the general public, to debate and discuss the different human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and States’ responses thereto.
This new report summarises the main discussion points, conclusions and outcomes of this ‘first season’ of RightOn.
An interactive version of the report can also be found here.