The UN Human Rights Council

From the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to the Human Rights Council (HRC)

The UN Human Rights Council
© picture-alliance/dpa

The UN Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council

© picture-alliance/dpa

On 15 March 2006 the United Nations General Assembly voted by a large majority to replace the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) with a new Human Rights Council (Resolution 60/251). This was one of the key proposals for reform made in March 2005 by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan towards strengthening United Nations human rights protection (“In Larger Freedom”).

The establishment of the Human Rights Council was subsequently approved in principle by Heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit in September 2005. The CHR’s final (62nd) session was held on 27 March 2006 merely as a matter of procedure, and the new Human Rights Council convened for the first time from 19 to 30 June 2006. The Human Rights Council, which comprises 47 elected member states (the CHR had 56 member states), has the same status as the UN General Assembly committees and reports directly to the General Assembly.

With the adoption of Resolution 5/1 on 19 June 2007, the Human Rights Council largely completed its organizational development.

Website of the Human Rights Council external link, opens in new windowwww2.ohchr.org

Major differences between the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council:

• The new regional composition within the Human Rights Council substantially reduces the influence of the Western and Latin American regional groups.
• The Council meets for no less than ten weeks per year, spread over no less than three sessions. The CHR met for just six weeks. So in future there will be considerably more time to deal with human rights issues in the UN. It is also important that the UN will in future be able to respond much more quickly to severe human rights violations. The HRC has the right to hold special sessions, which it has done four times since summer 2006 (on the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Sudan).
• The Human Rights Council has been given a comprehensive mandate to deal with human rights abuses in individual countries and to submit recommendations.
• Within the context of the Review of Mandates, the proven system of special rapporteurs developed by the CHR was retained, as were the broad possibilities for participation by non-governmental organizations. Some country mandates, however, expired at the end of the initial one-year period. The confidential complaints procedure of the CHR (the so-called 1503 procedure) was also taken over largely unchanged, and the Sub-Commission of the old CHR, primarily an advisory body, was replaced by a leaner, independent council of experts oriented to this advisory function.
• The hurdle for membership of the Human Rights Council has been raised for countries which violate human rights, as they have to demonstrate their activities and commitment in the field of human rights. There is in principle also the possibility for such states to be “un-elected”.
• With the Universal Periodic Review, the Human Rights Council has established a procedure under which all UN member states will in future have to submit to a periodic review mechanism to ensure that they are meeting their human rights obligations.

The UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

The United Nations logo for the first session of the Human Rights Council in 2006
© picture-alliance/dpa

The United Nations logo for the first session of the Human Rights Council in 2006

The United Nations logo for the first session of the Human Rights Council in 2006

© picture-alliance/dpa

Under this new procedure, the Human Rights Council examines the human rights situation in each UN member state at four-yearly intervals. The UPR is based on a national country report (maximum 20 pages), a compilation of documents prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a summary of statements submitted by civil society on the country in question. The country in question presents its own report and, in a three-hour interactive dialogue before the Human Rights Council, responds to the questions and recommendations of other states. After the dialogue meeting, the reviewed state has the opportunity within a fixed period to react to the recommendations and accept or reject them.

At seven meetings of the UPR working group between April 2008 and February 2010, a total of 112 states have already undergone their review. Germany’s review was held on 2 February 2009.

Learn more here …

external link, opens in new windowwww.ohchr.org

The UN Human Rights Council UPR meetings are broadcast live on webcast and can be downloaded later.

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Germany as a member of the Human Rights Council

Election to the UN Human Rights Council
© picture-alliance/photoshot

Election to the UN Human Rights Council

Election to the UN Human Rights Council

© picture-alliance/photoshot

Germany was elected to the new United Nations Human Rights Council for a period of three years on 9 May 2006 in the first elections to this new body. In the Western regional group Germany obtained the best result (154 votes) of all the candidates. Germany’s membership of the Human Rights Council began on 19 June 2006, the date of the formal commencement of its work and ended on 18 June 2009.

Germany has put forward its candidacy for renewed membership of the Human Rights Council for the period 2012-2015. Until then, Germany will take its observer status very seriously.

Members of the Human Rights Council and distribution of seats

Elections to the Human Rights Council take place every May, with one third of its members being elected for a three year term. Following the last elections the Council has been composed as follows since 19 June 2011 until 31 December 2012 (including 8 EU member states):

African Group – 13 seats:

Angola (till 2013), Benin (till 2014), Botswana (till 2014), Burkina Faso (till 2014), Djibouti (till 2012), Cameroon (till 2012), Congo (till 2014), Libya (till 2013, suspended), Mauritania (till 2013), Mauritius (till 2012), Nigeria (till 2012), Senegal (till 2012), Uganda (till 2013)

Asian Group – 13 seats:

Bangladesh (till 2012), China (till 2012), India (till 2014), Indonesia (till 2014), Jordan (till 2012), Qatar (till 2013), Kyrgyzstan (till 2012); Kuweit (till 2014), Malaysia (till 2013), the Maldives (till 2013), the Philippines (till 2014), Saudi Arabia (till 2012), Thailand (till 2013)

Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) – 8 seats:

Chile (till 2014), Costa Rica (till 2014), Ecuador (till 2013), Guatemala (till 2013), Cuba (till 2012), Mexico (till 2012), Peru (till 2014), Uruguay (till 2012)

Eastern European Group (EEG) – 6 seats:

Moldavia (till 2013), Poland (till 2013), Romania (till 2014), Russia (till 2012), Czech Republic (till 2014), Hungary (till 2012)

Western European and Other States Group (WEOG) – 7 seats:

Belgium (till 2012), Italy (till 2014), Norway (till 2012), Austria (till 2014), Spain (till 2013), Switzerland (till 2013), the USA (till 2012)

Last updated 19.09.2011