The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the first international human rights mechanism to address all countries and all human rights.
This unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council sees the record of UN Member States reviewed by their peers every four to five years, with every State having the opportunity to ask questions or make recommendations to the State under review. The result of each review is contained in an ‘outcome report’, listing the recommendations the State under review is expected to implement.
Civil society organisations are able to feed in to this process formally, by submitting reports which are incorporated into a compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and published in advance of the review, and can also lobby delegations directly as to the questions they should ask and recommendations they should make. Civil society also has a crucial role in monitoring and pushing for implementation of recommendations at the national level.
ISHR supports human rights defenders in their interaction with the UPR. We also publish and submit briefing papers regarding the situation facing human rights defenders in some States under review, and advocate for the UPR to be used as mechanism to support and protect human rights defenders on the ground.
The Guatemalan government rejects 40% of recommendations at crucial UN human rights review. Amidst a delicate electoral context, NGOs urge the government to cooperate in good faith with UN bodies and implement key recommendations to address attacks against human rights defenders, justice officials, and discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, women, and LGBTIQ+ persons.
At the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, during the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of Benin, ISHR and Changement Social Benin delivered a joint statement encouraging Benin to do more for the protection of defenders in the country.
At the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, during the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of Zambia, ISHR, the Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolutions of Disputes and the Zambia Human Rights Defenders Network delivered a joint statement calling on Zambia to revise its legal instruments and adopt an adequate legal framework to ensure defenders can work in a safe environment without fear of reprisals.
This week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will present his report on Venezuela, providing an overview of the human rights situation and the implementation of UN recommendations.
Mauritius is one of the island States of Africa. The local civil society can find it challenging to connect to civil society on the continent, and to raise the restrictions they face to international and regional human rights mechanisms. A recent workshop helped address this issue.
During the adoption of the Algeria Universal Periodic Review outcomes, organisations addressed the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders and civil society organisations.
This submission to the 4th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China addresses the Chinese government's misuse of ill-defined national security legislation as a structural abuse and common root cause of systematic and widespread violations against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and human rights defenders and lawyers in mainland China and Hong Kong.
On 17 April 2023, ISHR submitted its annual submission to the report to the UN Secretary General on reprisals and intimidation against defenders engaging or seeking to engage with the UN and its human rights mechanisms.
In order for the international human rights system to function to its fullest potential, human rights defenders must be able to share crucial information and perspectives, safely and unhindered. However, many defenders still face unacceptable risks and are unable to cooperate safely with the UN.
States should encourage Hungary to protect human rights defenders and civil society space through its forthcoming UPR, ISHR and TASZ said in a new briefing paper launched today.
The work to hold the Chinese government accountable for its commitments is more important than ever before. To this end, ISHR has developed a hands-on, multilingual guide to UPR monitoring and follow-up for civil society groups, halfway between its last review, and it's upcoming in 2023.
ISHR and the Burkinabe Coalition for Human Rights Defenders urge States to use Burkina Faso’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review to call for a better protection of human rights defenders and journalists in the country.
