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A new chapter for human rights: a handbook on issues of transition from the Commission on Human Rights to the Human Rights Council

The handbook highlights the major issues of transition from the Commission on Human Rights to the new Human Rights Council. It briefly describes the old system under the Commission, what the Council needs to consider and do during its first year, and some of the key issues, and existing suggestions and choices. The handbook also identifies the main questions around each of these issues to generate discussion and reflection on what NGOs and defenders hope can be achieved through the system, what features they think would be useful, and better options. (International Service for Human Rights and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, June 2006)

http://www.ishr.ch/handbook

(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 49)

General Assembly Establishes New Human Rights Council

United Nations Member States today overwhelmingly approved the establishment of a new Human Rights Council, aiming to strengthen the world body's machinery to promote and protect fundamental rights, and deal with major human rights offenders. Adopting a resolution by a recorded vote of 170 in favour to 4 against (Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 3 abstentions (Belarus, Iran, Venezuela), the General Assembly decided to set up the new Council to replace the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights, which has come under fire for excessive politicization.

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/ga10449.doc.htm

(Added: Mon Mar 20 2006   Modified: Fri Jan 19 2007   Hits: 246)

Guide to UN Human Rights Council candidates

The election of the first members of the new UN Human Rights Council will take place on 9 May 2006. Each of the 47 members must achieve an absolute majority of the votes at the UN General Assembly in order secure a seat on the Council. In order to assist Member States in assessing the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights, Amnesty International is making available brief summaries of its recent research findings into the candidate countries to assist Member States in their deliberations. (AI, 19 April 2006)

http://www.amnesty.org/un_hrc/index.html

(Added: Fri Apr 21 2006   Hits: 77)

How to Put U.N. Rights Council Back on Track

Seven months after the United Nations General Assembly created a Human Rights Council to replace the much-maligned Commission on Human Rights, the new council already has garnered a level of condemnation that its predecessor took decades to achieve. Much of this criticism is justified. The council has failed to take concrete action or even to condemn serious human rights abuses in places like Darfur, Burma, Uzbekistan or Colombia. Yet it has adopted three one-sided resolutions condemning Israeli human rights violations, none of which even mentions abuses by armed Palestinian groups or Hezbollah. But this article argues that, while the council is in deep trouble, it can be saved if supporters of human rights exert leadership and mount an effective drive to win over moderate states from all regions of the world. (Peggy Hicks, The Forward, 3 November 2006)

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/03/global14503.htm

(Added: Mon Dec 04 2006   Hits: 39)

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, is a replacement for the Commission on Human Rights, and a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Council is responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights, and addresses situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and makes recommendations thereon.

http://www.ohchr.org/English/bodies/hrcouncil/

(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 41)

Human Rights Council achieves disturbingly little

A year after the creation of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, Reporters Without Borders voices deep concern about the new body's functioning and, in particular, the obstructionist manoeuvres by member countries that are the worst human rights violators. (Reporters without Borders, June 2007)

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22629

(Added: Wed Nov 28 2007   Hits: 41)

Human Rights Watch letter to Ban Ki-Moon on eve of HR Commissioner appointment

As Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon prepares to select a new UN high commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International send a letter to Ban Ki-moon advising him to choose a champion for human rights. Read the letter here. (20.3.08)

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/14/global18294.htm

(Added: Thu Mar 20 2008   Hits: 19)

Human rights: Where is the U.S.?

In this article, the former U.S. representative to the UN Commission for Human Rights, argues that the United States, despite not being a member of the Human Rights Council, must send a high-level envoy to engage in influencing and establishing procedures as the new Council takes form, as it ought not to turn our back on any opportunity to advance human rights throughout the world, having regressed their progress in its so-called 'war on terror'. (Nancy Rubin, International Herald Tribune, 20 June 2006)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/20/opinion/edrubin.php

(Added: Thu Jun 22 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 206)

More Business Than Usual: The Work Which Awaits the Human Rights Council

Since it was created in June, the Human Rights Council has devoted significant attention to three human rights situations - Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Darfur. It has also received and discussed reports on human rights abuses in about a dozen more countries, without making recommendations or taking any action. In this first year of its existence, the Council is understandably preoccupied with institution building: establishing a "universal periodic review" in which the human rights records of all states will be considered, reviewing the system of independent experts which are responsible for reporting on human rights abuses, and developing its methods of work. But human rights violations haven't been suspended while the Council focused on these tasks; in fact they have worsened in many locations. The Council's attention to institution building has created a growing backlog of work that deserves the HRC's attention. (Human Rights Watch, March 12 2007)

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/12/sudan15471.htm

(Added: Tue Apr 03 2007   Hits: 97)

Project on a mechanism to address laws that discriminate against women [pdf]

The aim of the project was to examine the advisability of creating a new mechanism to address laws that discriminate against women. This report considers the existing UN frameworks and the extent to which they address discriminatory laws as well as national data on laws that discriminate against women (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 6 March 2008)

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/laws_that_discriminate_against_women.pdf

(Added: Thu Mar 20 2008   Modified: Fri Apr 04 2008   Hits: 63)

The UN Human Rights Council at work: From high hopes back to reality [pdf]

Kofi Annan claimed that a change would take place in the way of working: a culture of cooperation and dialogue would replace the culture of confrontation and distrust, which dominated the Commission in recent years. But this analysis of the Council's work demonstrates, the Council is more politicised than ever. (by Veronique Joosten, United Nations Association Flanders Belgium, 2007)

http://www.vvn.be/files/u1/VVN_HRC_at_work_-_Definitieve_versie.pdf

(Added: Wed May 07 2008   Hits: 22)

Will the Human Rights Council Have Better Membership than the Commission on Human Rights?

Countries with poor human rights records have in the past sought seats on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights not to strengthen human rights but instead to protect themselves from criticism - meaning the Commission often failed to adopt strong condemnations of human rights abuses. However in its replacement, the UN Human Rights Council, members are required to uphold the highest standards in the protection of human rights and an absolute majority of the General Assembly can elect a county to the Council. The author of this article concludes that this gives supporters of human rights a much greater opportunity to ensure only non-abusive states become members, and thus ensure that this new body will be led by countries truly committed to promoting human rights. (Lawrence C. Moss, Human Rights Watch, April 2006)

http://hrw.org/backgrounder/un/un0406/

(Added: Tue May 02 2006   Hits: 59)

Will the New U.N. Council get serious about Human Rights?

(April 11, 2006)-Recently, the United Nations General Assembly voted to abolish its discredited Human Rights Commission and replace it with a stronger Human Rights Council. Whether the council lives up to its promise depends on the political will of governments as they elect the first members of the new body. (Reed Brody, Human Rights Watch, Guradian&Mail, 12 April 2006)

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/12/global13170.htm

(Added: Tue Apr 18 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 25 2007   Hits: 64)