Report launch: (De)funding human rights at a time of UN reform

As the United Nations undergoes reform, human rights are under threat. Despite being central to its mission, the UN's human rights pillar has long been underfunded — with under 7% of the UN's budget — while a group of States led by China and Russia have worked behind the scenes to block and reduce funding for human rights investigations and advance their interests, ISHR's new report finds. At a moment of budget cuts and financial crisis, these efforts — compounded by the US failure to pay their UN membership fees and outstanding debts — pose an existential threat to the UN’s human rights system.
 
This event will present the key findings and recommendations of ISHR’s new report, Budget Battles at the UN: How States try to Defund Human Rights, providing a first-of-its-kind inception into human rights budget negotiations in New York and their impact on human rights protection on the ground.

Opening remarks:

• Jay Dharmadhikari, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in New York
• Kyle Ward, former Chief of Programme Support and Management Services, OHCHR (on video)

Speakers:

• Angeli Datt, report author and independent consultant
• Raphael Viana David, Programme Manager, ISHR
• Thibault Camelli, Programme Officer, Multilateral Reform Programme at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC) and former Fifth Committee delegate

Moderator:

• Madeleine Sinclair, New York Office Director, ISHR

As space is limited, registration is mandatory. To attend the event, please RSVP here.