The 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council, from 24 June to 12 July 2019, will consider issues including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, migrants rights, freedoms of association, assembly, expression, women’s rights among many other issues. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations in States including Belarus, Eritrea, Burundi, Myanmar, Venezuela, Nicaragua among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.
The UN Human Rights Council (the Council) will hold its 41st regular session at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 24 June 2019 to 12 July 2019.
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Launch of ISHR joint report on strengthening HRC membership on 1 July at 13:00 at the UN Delegates restaurant. Please RSVP by filling this form.
Here are some highlights of the session’s thematic discussions.
The interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) will be held on Monday 24 June at 11:00. The Council will consider the new thematic report of the mandate holder as well as the report of the country visits to Georgia and Mozambique.
The Council will also consider the renewal of the mandate. Around the world, millions face human rights violations because of their SOGI. While violations have consistently been brought to the Council’s attention by UN mechanisms and bodies as well as civil society, since its creation in 2016 the mandate of the Independent Expert has strengthened mechanisms to shed light and address SOGI-related violations globally. The Expert has contributed to ensuring these issues are discussed and addressed by the Council (and General Assembly), raising awareness, identifying the root causes, intersectionality, and creating dialogue to improve the situation on the ground.
ISHR urges States to support the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert so it can continue to address the widespread and systematic discrimination and violence that rights holders face based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Why renew the SOGI mandate? Watch this video here.
ISHR will cosponsor a side event entitled ‘Needs, best practices and risks of research and data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity’, to be held on June 27 at 15:30.
The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with and consider several reports of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on 26 June. The Working Group will present a report on the gender dimensions of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the reports of country visits to Thailand and Kenya.
The Working Group’s report on the gender dimensions of the Guiding Principles integrates clear recognition that women human rights defenders play a vital role in challenging business-related human rights abuses as well as in promoting and protecting human rights in relation to business activity, including the right to an effective remedy. As a result of this work, they often face gender-specific risks including sexual violence, mysogynist public shaming and online harassment. Among its recommendations, the Working Group calls on business enterprises to ensure the meaningful participation of women’s organisations, women human rights defenders and gender experts in all stages of human rights due diligence.
The annual full day discussion on the human rights of women will take place on 27 June and on 28 June. The discussions will focus this year on violence against women in the world of work, the rights of older women and their economic empowerment. A panel focused on women’s rights and climate change will also be organised, focusing on climate action, best practices and lessons learned. States should place due consideration on the role of women human rights defenders and social movements in this regard, in line with the Human Rights Council resolution focused on environmental human rights defenders adopted in March 2019.
ISHR will support joint advocacy on the resolutions on violence against women and discrimination against women (mandate renewals). ISHR urges States to recognise, in the context of these discussions and resolutions, the critical role of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and organisations led by women and girls as rights holders and agents of change.
The Council will also hold an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice which focuses on women deprived of liberty (including women human rights defenders in detention, facing travel bans, among other situations), and will consider their reports including a report on the country visits to Honduras and Poland. The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on 27 June and will consider her report including the report of her visits to Canada and Nepal.
Reports of cases of intimidation and reprisal against those cooperating or seeking to cooperate with the UN not only continue, but grow. Intimidation and reprisals violate the rights of the individuals concerned, they constitute violations of international human rights law and undermine the UN human rights system.
The UN has taken action towards addressing this critical issue including:
However, ISHR remains deeply concerned about reprisals against civil society actors who try to engage with UN mechanisms, and consistent in its calls for all States and the Council to do more to address the situation.
Item 5 of the Human Rights Council’s agenda provides a key opportunity for States to raise concerns about reprisals, including specific cases, and for relevant governments to provide updates on cases to the Council on any investigation or action taken toward accountability.
During the organisational meeting held on 7 June, the President of the Council stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of those participating in the Council’s work, and the obligation of States to prevent intimidation or reprisals.
In line with previous calls, ISHR expects the President of the Human Rights Council to publicly identify and denounce specific instances of reprisals by issuing formal statements, conducting press-briefings, corresponding directly with the State concerned, publicly releasing such correspondence, and insisting on undertakings from the State concerned to investigate, hold the perpetrators accountable and report back to the Council on action taken.
The Council will hold dedicated debates and consider reports of several mandates relating to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and in some instances involving the renewal of the mandate:
For more than a year, the international community has had access to credible reports and first-hand testimony of the harassment, surveillance, and mass detention of more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. Despite the consistent work of the UN human rights mechanisms to review China, ask questions, and make recommendations, there has been no serious or effective response. The Council should take urgent action to seek access, monitoring and reporting of the situation to inform future actions.
This is even more important because the Chinese authorities have made use of a range of tools to suppress independent information about their human rights practices. This includes the use of heavy-handed policing and mass surveillance of ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and other populations across the country, under the umbrella of broad and ill-defined ‘counter-terrorism’ and ‘national security’ regulations. Dangerous abuses in Xinjiang in particular have bolstered discriminatory policies uprooting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities’ cultural and religious rights and identity, separating families and chilling any and all dissent.
China remains a member of the Human Rights Council until the end of this year, a position in which they have sought to shield themselves from scrutiny rather than live up to the highest human rights standards. The government has invested in an expansive charm offensive while also delivering thinly-veiled threats to independent experts, civil society and the diplomatic community. The situation in Xinjiang is a test of the Council’s prevention mandate, adherence to its membership criteria, and its willingness and ability to put universal human rights above economic interests and political expediency.
ISHR urges States to act collectively to advance a resolution calling for China to allow access to the region to independent human rights experts and to end country-wide the arbitrary detention of individuals based on their religious beliefs or political opinions.
In response to the gross and systematic human rights violations occurring in Sudan, ISHR joined a group of civil society organisations urging the UN Human Rights Council Member States to urgently hold a Special Session on the human rights situation in Sudan.The Council should urgently establish an international fact-finding mission to document violations, identify perpetrators and push for accountability, in line with calls made by a group of Special Procedures including the Independent Expert on Sudan.
Since 3 June, Rapid Security Forces, riot police and national security officers violently dispersed peaceful protesters in Khartoum as well as in different cities across Sudan. The MENA Women Human Rights Defenders’ Coalition reported that at least 113 people have died including women human rights defenders. Civil society documented cases of rape, attacks on hospitals, with hundreds injured and missing. The Transitional Military Council is enforcing a ban on communication causing an internet black out. The High Commissioner has deplored the killings and proposed ” the rapid deployment of a UN human rights monitoring team” to Sudan.
The June session provides an important opportunity for the Council to follow up on the joint statement delivered on behalf of 36 States by Iceland in March 2019, which interalia, called for the release of all individuals detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms, including naming ten women human rights defenders. Several of them were referred to trial after almost ten months of detention without a charge but they are facing unfair trials. Seven women’s rights activists have been provisionally released, but they are still facing trial, and other women human rights defenders are still in detention, with the human rights situation on the ground deteriorating markedly on other fronts, including through increased use of the death penalty and the authorities’ continuing crackdown on freedom of expression.
The State joint statement also called upon Saudi Arabia to disclose all information available and to fully cooperate with all investigations into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, including the human rights inquiry by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The Special Rapporteur will present her findings of the investigation into the killing on 26 June. States should use this opportunity to highlight that Khashoggi’s case demonstrates the context of widespread impunity and the Saudi government’s zero-tolerance for any form of dissent.
This impunity extends to the situation of Saudi women human rights defenders as well. There was no credible and effective investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment against the women’s rights activists. In addition, in April 2019 the Saudi government arrested at least fourteen bloggers, writers and family members of women human rights defenders, reportedly targeting those supporting the women’s rights movement and detained activists.
The provisional release of some activists demonstrates that Council scrutiny can contribute to positive human rights outcomes on the ground, particularly with respect to the cases of detained women human rights defenders. But for this scrutiny to remain effective, it must be sustained.
ISHR calls on States to advance a HRC resolution establishing a monitoring mechanism over the human rights violations in the country and calling explicitly for the immediate and unconditional release of all human rights defenders including the detained women human rights defenders and to drop all charges against them, including those provisionally released. ISHR considers the March joint statement as a first step towards more sustained and dedicated review by the Council in its efforts to hold its members accountable.
The Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries for human rights defenders. They persevere under harsh conditions, fighting against repression and corruption to make a better society for all. They continue their work so the most vulnerable are protected and their voices are heard. ISHR joined several civil society calls calling on the Council to to advance accountability for human rights violations by adopting a resolution establishing an independent international investigation into extrajudicial killings in the government’s ‘war on drugs’, and to call for a halt to the attacks on human rights defenders, independent media, and democratic institutions. This call was strongly endorsed by a group of independent UN experts who condemned a ‘sharp deterioration in the situation of human rights across the country, including sustained attacks on people and institutions defending human rights.’
Despite the Egyptian government assurances’ to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights that it will allow unobstructed participation by national and international civil society actors at the 64th session held in April/May 2019 in, civil society faced restrictions, reprisals and intimidation when engaging or seeking to engage with the Commission.
These restrictions and reprisals happened in a context where the government of Egypt crushes dissent, discourages public participation in public affairs and punishes people who dare to claim basic human rights. Individuals and communities who engaged with the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing during her visit in September 2018 faced systematic reprisals. All other scheduled visits by the Special Procedures have been postponed as a result.
The attacks against those who engaged with the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing and the restrictions imposed on her team during her visit are a direct attack on the UN system itself and a flagrant example of non-cooperation with the UN human rights system. These may also set a dangerous precedent in which a visit of a UN expert is used by the authorities to target and harass those who denounce human rights violations, including through the commission of further human rights violations.
ISHR calls on States to condemn the acts of intimidation and reprisals for civil society engaging with the African Commission and with the Special Procedures, and recall Egypt’s obligations to prevent acts of intimidation and reprisals, investigate the allegations and provide victims with effective remedy.
Egypt will undergo its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2019. ISHR will publish a briefing paper on the situation of human rights defenders ahead of the review. States should use the upcoming UPR to recommend to the Egyptian government concrete measures to guarantee a safe and enabling environment for defenders.
The Commission of Inquiry on Burundi will present its oral briefing on 2 July. ISHR continues to remain highly concerned about the human rights situation in Burundi and its refusal to cooperate with the Council’s mechanisms.The closing of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is regrettable and worrying. In addition, ISHR remains seriously concerned over the breaches to due process observed in all of human rights defender Germain Rukuki’s legal proceedings since his arrest without warrant on 13 July 2017. These infringements have been denounced relentlessly by civil society and United Nations bodies, such as the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi.
For more information on the situation of human rights defenders in Burundi, check ISHR Briefing Paper for the UPR here.
The High Commissioner will present her oral update to the Council on June 24. The Council will hear reports on and is expected to consider resolutions addressing a range of country situations, in some instances involving the renewal of the relevant expert mandates. These include:
During this session, the Council will adopt the UPR working group reports on New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Viet Nam, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu, North Macedonia, Comoros, Slovakia, Eritrea, Cyprus, Dominican Republic and Cambodia.
ISHR supports human rights defenders in their interaction with the UPR. We 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.
During the organisational meeting for the 41st session held on 7 June 2019, the President of the Human Rights Council presented the programme of work. It includes four panels of discussion and 54 reports. States also announced at least 19 resolutions.
At the organisational meeting the following resolutions were announced (States sponsoring the resolution in brackets). Furthermore, according to the voluntary calendar for resolutions, it is possible that more resolutions could also be presented at this session. Read the calendar here.
During each Council session, panel discussions are held to provide member States and NGOs with opportunities to hear from subject-matter experts and raise questions. All panel discussions will be broadcast live and archived on http://webtv.un.org. Four panel discussions are scheduled for this upcoming session:
Launch of ISHR joint report on strengthening HRC membership on 1 July at 13:00 at the UN Delegates restaurant. Please RSVP by filling this form. Speakers will introduce the report and highlight some of the key challenges, opportunities and practical recommendations, including with regard to good practice relating to candidacy and membership of the HRC.
States and NGOs are holding a series of events. You can download the list of State events here and NGO events here.
Read here the three year programme of work of the Council with supplementary information.
Read here ISHR’s recommendations on the the key issues that are or should be on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council in 2019.
Two years after the publication of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' landmark assessment on the situation in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang), global scrutiny of China's human rights violations remains strong.
We are celebrating longstanding and collective efforts in supporting human rights defenders. Join us and find out more!
Civil society calls for the immediate release of human rights defender Hoda Abdelmonem, arbitrarily detained for six years in Egypt.
