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This week in an online event, 10 candidate States publicly spoke to an audience of around 200 people on their pledges as incoming Human Rights Council members for 2022 – 2024. They also faced questions on pressing human rights issues from both States and civil society organisations.

The 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, from 22 February to 23 March 2021, will consider issues including the protection of human rights defenders, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests-particularly in the United States of America-, freedom of religion or belief, protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism, the right to food, among others. It will also hold dedicated debates on grave human rights situations in States including Nicaragua, Venezuela, Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem, Syria, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.

The 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place on 30 June to 21 July 2020. The Council will consider issues including racism, sexual orientation and gender identity, violence and discrimination against women and girls, poverty, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression, among others. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations in States including the Philippines, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Belarus, Venezuela, Burundi, Myanmar among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.

Civil society organisations welcomed significant outcomes of the Human Rights Council's 41st session, including the extension of the SOGI mandate, adopting the first resolution on the Philippines and extending its scrutiny over Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belarus and Ukraine. This session witnessed heightened scrutiny of Council members by shedding light on the situations in Saudi Arabia and China. It missed an opportunity, however, to ensure that human rights are not sidelined in Sudan.

Earlier today the General Assembly elected 18 new members to the Human Rights Council, the UN’s top human rights body, for the 2019-2021 term. Not only were countries that blatantly violate the required criteria among those elected, they received a substantial number of votes.

The world’s top human rights body should only be composed of States who have a genuine commitment to protecting human rights. At the Human Rights Council elections to take place tomorrow in New York, UN Member States should refrain from voting for candidates that blatantly fail to uphold the highest standards of human rights and fail to fully cooperate with this Council.

By Nicolas Agostini, Representative to the United Nations, DefendDefenders. The world’s top human rights body needs members with a genuine commitment to protecting human rights. Electing States should ensure that candidates with a record of systematically violating rights and failing to cooperate with the Council receive no support in the ballot.

Ahead of the 38^th session of the UN Human Rights Council (“HRC” or “the Coun­cil”), ISHR joined a cross-re­gional group of non-governmental organisations to share their serious concerns over the sys­te­ma­tic, wide­spread and gross human rights violations that continue to be committed with impu­nity in Eritrea.

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Every year, the NGO Forum takes place ahead of the African Commission session. For its 35^th edition, the NGO Forum was organised and facilitated by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHR) in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) and the NGO Forum Steering Committee. Among the high number of participants, various stakeholders took part in the forum including civil society organisations (CSOs), national human rights institutions (NHRI) representatives as well as Commissioners of the African Commission.

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In a statement delivered today before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission), ISHR commended progress made on legal protection and recognition of human rights defenders while expressing serious concerns on increasing violations in various countries.

27 NGOs call on States to co-sponsor and support a UN Human Rights Council Resolution renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea to ensure continued monitoring and scrutiny of the human rights situation in the country.

States and NGOs alike should do more within the Human Rights Council to promote the full realisation of economic, social and cultural rights – and to address gross and systematic violations of those rights – in concrete ways, says Lucy McKernan.