The Human Rights Council is the world’s peak multilateral human rights body. It is comprised of 47 Member States and meets at least three times per year in Geneva. It is mandated to strengthen the global promotion and protection of human rights, and to address human rights violations and situations of concern.
ISHR works intensively at the Human Rights Council to support the work of human rights defenders. Our strategic combination of research, capacity building, policy development, and advocacy seeks to ensure that the Council is accessible to human rights defenders, protects them against intimidation and reprisals, and is an effective mechanism for change on the ground.
We also monitor and report on States’ cooperation with the Human Rights Council and advocate to ensure that States that seek membership are held to account for their commitment to ‘uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights’.
Read more about our impact and vision in making progress and preventing regress for civil society at the UN.
The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution presenting the Annual Report of the Human Rights Council today without a challenge to the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI) for a second time.
On Thursday 10 November, India’s human rights record came under scrutiny at the UN in the context of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
States at the UN General Assembly voted to elect 14 new members of the Human Rights Council for the term 2023 to 2025, with 17 candidates running.
13 organisations share reflections on the key outcomes of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the missed opportunities to address key issues and situations.
States at the UN Human Rights Council have voted to renew the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela (FFM) for another two years, ensuring the continuation of a mechanism that has become central to the work of human rights defenders. It has also extended the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report to the Council.
States at the UN Human Rights Council have voted to establish a dedicated Special Rapporteur to monitor the dire and deteriorating human rights situation in Russia and report on violations committed against civil society.
Understand the structure, purpose and mandate of the Human Rights Council and the opportunities for effective engagement.
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ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.
This new ISHR report presents the evolution of China’s public stance on reprisals in dialogues at the UN, and summarizes the way in which it has portrayed civil society’s cooperation with the UN as a ‘criminal act’.
The 'Colectivo 46/2', and ISHR, have launched a series of Evaluation Benchmarks on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 46/2 on the human rights situation in Nicaragua.
ISHR is pleased to launch its new guide to the UN Special Procedures, an essential tool for human rights defenders seeking to engage more strategically with these experts, for greater impact on the ground.
ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2022-2024 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.
The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led States to take measures to combat the spread of the virus. Despite the state of health emergency, some of these measures were considered inappropriate and have considerably limited the rights of defenders with a considerable impact on their work.
