UNGA81: Key human rights issues at the Third Committee in October – November 2026

The Third Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA81) will meet in New York from October 1 to November 20 2026.

The Third Committee is the General Assembly’s principal committee dealing with human rights and social and humanitarian issues. This year it is expected to consider approximately 47 thematic and country-specific resolutions and hold dialogues with 88 human rights experts, UN officials and entities. Its decisions can strengthen international human rights standards, respond to serious violations, and shape the work and resources of the UN human rights system.

UNGA81 takes place at a moment of mounting pressure on the international human rights system and the institutions that underpin it. States should use the session to reaffirm their commitment to human rights multilateralism and to translate into action the commitments made by more than 90 States in the cross-regional statement at HRC61.

This means defending independent human rights mechanisms and those who serve them from intimidation and reprisals, responding collectively to the growing threat of transnational repression, including by acting on the recommendations of the recent joint statement by over 130 UN human rights experts, and standing firmly behind international accountability mechanisms and officials facing threats and attacks.

It also requires ensuring that the UN human rights pillar has the resources to deliver: chronic underfunding and the liquidity crisis continue to impede UN human rights bodies from doing critical human rights work and help the most vulnerable, making it imperative that States deliver on the Pact for the Future commitment to provide adequate, predictable, increased and sustainable financing for human rights. Against this backdrop, the Third Committee should also reaffirm the indispensable role of human rights defenders and strengthen their protection, including through a strong and forward-looking resolution on human rights defenders.

Stay up-to-date: Follow @ISHRglobal and #UNGA81 on X and @ishr.ch on BlueSky, and look out for our Human Rights Monitor.

ISHR thematic priorities:

Human rights defenders

At UNGA81, Norway will lead the now triennial resolution on human rights defenders, providing an important opportunity for the General Assembly to reaffirm the essential role of defenders and strengthen their protection. The resolution comes at a time of shrinking civic space and increasing pressure on defenders in many parts of the world, including through threats, attacks, criminalisation, surveillance and other forms of intimidation and reprisal. ISHR urges States to support a strong and forward-looking resolution that responds to the evolving risks faced by defenders, protects and expands the space in which they work, and strengthens implementation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and Declaration +25. In particular, the resolution should strengthen protections for defenders in the digital sphere, including against unlawful surveillance and spyware, misuse of AI and biometric technologies, internet shutdowns and technology-facilitated gender-based violence; respond to the growing threat of transnational repression; and recognise the particular risks faced by women human rights defenders and other defenders at heightened risk, while ensuring effective safeguards, accountability and remedies. 

 

Reprisals

Each year at the Third Committee, Ireland and Uruguay deliver a joint statement condemning intimidation and reprisals against those who cooperate with the United Nations. This year’s statement sent a strong message in support of the right of civil society and human rights defenders to engage safely and freely with the UN and its mechanisms, and ISHR welcomes and thanks the States that lent their voices to it. At the same time, the continued decline in the number of States joining the statement is deeply concerning at a time when reprisals remain widespread and are taking increasingly diverse forms, including transnationally. ISHR urges States to translate the commitments expressed in the statement into concrete action to prevent, investigate and ensure effective follow-up and accountability for reprisals, and calls on more States to add their voices to this collective stand in future.

The Third Committee’s interactive dialogue on 15 October with the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, who leads the UN’s system-wide response to intimidation and reprisals, is also a critical opportunity for States to raise individual cases of reprisals, including cases documented in the Secretary-General’s annual report, and press for their resolution and follow-up. ISHR encourages States to raise cases highlighted through our #EndReprisals campaign, helping ensure that defenders who face retaliation for engaging with the UN are not forgotten and that perpetrators are held accountable. This year’s campaign focuses on human rights defenders who face reprisals through transnational repression, as States seek to silence criticism beyond their borders.

 

Defending gender equality and countering anti-rights initiatives

UNGA81 takes place amid intensifying attacks on gender equality and the rights of women, girls and LGBTIQ+ persons — both through unilateral policy measures and coordinated efforts to roll back established language in multilateral negotiations. At CSW70 this March, the US tabled eight amendments targeting gender and SRHR language and a draft resolution seeking to redefine ‘gender’ in restrictive terms; all were defeated, but these tactics may be replicated in the Third Committee.

The precedent from UNGA80 is particularly concerning. An OIC-led amendment to delete the first-ever SOGI reference in the resolution on the rights of persons with disabilities was narrowly defeated in the Third Committee but was reintroduced and adopted in the General Assembly plenary, resulting in the deletion of the reference from the final resolution. This means defending inclusive language in Committee is no longer sufficient — States must be prepared to defend it through to the plenary.

These efforts are becoming more institutionalised. In September 2026, on the margins of the General Assembly, the United States and a group of Latin American and other States announced the formation of a new coalition — framed around ‘life and family’ — explicitly positioning itself as a counterweight to the Pro-LGBTI+ Core Group, signalling a more coordinated approach to opposing gender equality and SOGI language in UN negotiations.

ISHR urges States to reject hostile amendments targeting established language on gender equality, SRHR and SOGI across all Third Committee resolutions; defend agreed language through to plenary adoption; and oppose any attempt to redefine ‘gender’ in restrictive or exclusionary terms.

At UNGA81, Finland will lead the biennial resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, which has long recognised the heightened risk of unlawful killings faced by particular groups, including persons targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI) and those exercising the right to defend rights. Maintaining this explicit protection is particularly important this year, especially given the ultimate removal of the SOGI reference from the resolution on the rights of persons with disabilities. This underscores that established inclusive language cannot be taken for granted and must be defended consistently throughout the General Assembly process. ISHR urges States to defend the integrity of the EJE resolution, reject any attempt to remove or weaken its established SOGI language, and ensure that the resolution continues to explicitly recognise and protect all those at heightened risk of unlawful killings.

Strengthening the human rights treaty body system

At UNGA81, Iceland and a cross-regional group of States will lead the biennial resolution on the human rights treaty body system, providing an important opportunity to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of the treaty bodies. The resolution comes at a critical moment, as severe resource constraints, growing backlogs and the UN liquidity crisis are undermining the system’s ability to carry out its mandated work. This context demands an ambitious response from Member States that recognises the challenges facing the system and takes concrete steps to safeguard its effective functioning. ISHR urges States to support a stronger, adequately and predictably resourced treaty body system, including predictable review cycles, greater alignment of working methods, and accessible and inclusive modalities that enable the meaningful participation of civil society and other stakeholders, while safeguarding the independence of the treaty bodies. We urge all States to ensure that treaty bodies have adequate and predictable financial and human resources to carry out all their mandated activities fully and effectively, and to allocate the necessary resources through the Fifth Committee. The resolution should also build on and give practical effect to the previous resolution’s invitation to expand the use of digital technologies, by ensuring that hybrid modalities are systematically available to facilitate the meaningful and accessible participation of civil society and other stakeholders in treaty body activities.

 

Special Procedures reporting to the General Assembly

Efforts to reduce the Third Committee’s workload have led to significant cuts to Special Procedures reporting to the General Assembly. Decisions taken at HRC60–62 will result in five fewer reports to GA81 and 17 fewer reports across GA81–83, already exceeding the reductions initially envisaged under the Third Committee working-methods roadmap. Of particular concern, some mandates are being moved to biennial reporting, risking making these cuts permanent and reducing opportunities for engagement with mandate holders in New York.

States from the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) have led these reductions, often through cross-regional initiatives involving one or more WEOG members. ISHR urges States to assess any further changes on a case-by-case basis, preserve meaningful engagement with the General Assembly, and ensure that efficiency measures do not weaken the visibility, effectiveness or independence of Special Procedures.

 

Civil society participation

Civil society plays an important role throughout the session by briefing States and UN experts, providing information on human rights situations and individual cases, proposing technical expertise on resolutions being negotiated, and organising side events. Severe physical barriers prevent physical access to UN premises including those related to timely granting as well as delays in processing requests for ECOSOC accreditation. Even NGOs in ECOSOC status often face barriers in engaging at the Third Committee due to severe delays in approving requests for groundspasses.

ISHR encourages States to enable effective and meaningful civil society engagement during the Third Committee by enabling inclusive participation in-person and through online and hybrid participation.  We urge resolution penholders to facilitate meaningful civil society participation, including by inviting NGOs to attend informal negotiations as observers. We also urge the Chair of the Committee to continue the established practice of an informal exchange with civil society prior to and at the conclusion of the session and to strengthen the quality of this exchange by providing civil society with timely notice and meaningful opportunity for participation.

 

Impact of the budget and liquidity crisis

The UN’s financial and liquidity crisis is already reshaping the work of the Third Committee and the human rights mechanisms that engage with it. Financial constraints have led to a shift away from a general debate and separate general discussions under individual agenda items. Delegations now must choose to either speak in the general debate or to speak in the general discussions of individual items or clusters. Delegations or groups opting to deliver a statement in the general debate would not be able to inscribe in the individual general discussions lists. 

The budget and liquidity crisis are also restricting the work and engagement of independent human rights experts: Special Procedures face tighter limits on travel and mandated activities, while Treaty Body Chairs have been required to engage with the Third Committee remotely rather than travelling to New York. At the same time, States have been pushing  reductions in Special Procedures reporting to the General Assembly without proper impact assessment and mitigation measures. Taken together, these measures risk progressively reducing the depth, visibility and quality of human rights scrutiny in New York.

ISHR urges States to ensure that temporary financial constraints do not become permanent reductions in human rights engagement and to provide the resources necessary for the Third Committee and the mechanisms reporting to it to carry out their mandates fully and effectively.

ISHR also urges States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time and ensure that financial constraints do not disproportionately affect the human rights pillar or civil society participation.

 

Human Rights Council Elections

Elections for Human Rights Council membership for the 2027–2029 term will take place at the UN General Assembly, on 13 October. Council members are expected to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and cooperate fully with the Council and its mechanisms.

ISHR has published scorecards assessing candidates against objective human rights criteria. On 3 September, ISHR and Amnesty International held an online pledging event at which candidate States can present their vision for Council membership and respond to questions from civil society and other stakeholders.

ISHR calls on candidate States to make voluntary pledges to improve the human rights situation both at home and abroad and to strengthen their cooperation with the Council and its mechanisms. We also call on all Member States to cast informed votes and support only candidates that uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and cooperate fully with the UN human rights system. Regional groups should also nominate more candidates than the number of available seats to ensure genuinely competitive elections to the Council.

 

Country-specific priorities:

Nicaragua

The Human Rights Council Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) has previously concluded that the Nicaraguan State and officials have committed crimes against humanity, and has detailed the extensive network of transnational repression woven by the government to silence, punish, and at times kill, Nicaraguans in exile.

At the last 63rd session of the Human Rights Council, Costa Rica delivered a joint statement on behalf of 47 States raising deep concern at the announcement that no further elections would be held in Nicaragua, and at the persecution of real or perceived opponents, inside and outside the country. The group of States also denounced the death in custody of Miskito Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, and the systematic persecution of Indigenous Peoples, calling for a prompt investigation into his death, for a disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of family members and supporters who were forcibly disappeared after seeking to recover his remains. 

States should heed these calls and reiterate these concerns during the upcoming interactive dialogue with the GHREN on 26 October. They should also condemn Nicaragua’s persistent non-cooperation with the Universal Periodic Review and call for a debate on non-cooperation by States with the UPR.

 

China

Four years after its release, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has not provided meaningful follow-up to its Xinjiang assessment, which found that violations committed by China may constitute ‘crimes against humanity’. Meaningful follow-up should include clear public references to the report and calls on China to act on its recommendations, as well as an assessment of the degree of implementation. 

China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress entered into force on 1 July. UN experts and the High Commissioner have warned that it risks entrenching forced assimilation and further restricting the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongols and others. In Hong Kong, human rights defenders Chow Hang Tung and Lee Cheuk Yan were sentenced in September to more than seven years’ imprisonment for organising the annual Tiananmen vigil. High Commissioner Türk called for the sentences to be quashed, and for the National Security Law to be revised in line with international human rights law.

In the general debate and relevant interactive dialogues, States should:

• Call for meaningful follow-up to the Xinjiang assessment’s recommendations, including a substantive update from the High Commissioner on their implementation.
• Echo calls from UN experts and urge China to take urgent steps to suspend implementation of the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, and to repeal it or amend it to ensure full compliance with international human rights standards,
• Call for the immediate and unconditional release of individuals arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights by naming cases directly, including recently convicted Hong Kong human rights defenders Chow Hang Tung and Lee Cheuk Yan, as well as Gao Zhen, Ding Jiaxi, Xu Zhiyong, and Gulshan Abbas.
• Condemn transnational repression and acts of reprisals against defenders and their families, including against Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok, in line with ISHR’s #EndReprisals campaign.

 

Mexico

On 19 March 2026, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) concluded that there are well-founded indications that enforced disappearances are being practised on a widespread or systematic basis in Mexico and, for the first time in history, decided to urgently bring the matter to the attention of General Assembly, pursuant to Article 34 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The decision was made public on 2 April 2026. 

It is the first time the Committee has adopted a decision of this nature. Article 34 is the most exceptional mechanism provided for by the Convention. The outcome will set a precedent for victims around the world and for other situations that may come before the United Nations in the future. It is therefore essential that the process works and responds to the needs and expectations of victims, families, human rights defenders and civil society organisations in Mexico. They are best placed to propose solutions and must be at the centre of and leading the process.  

On 12 May 2026, the Secretary-General of the United Nations sent a note (A/80/737) to Member States of the General Assembly, informing them of the decision of the CED. The note is before the Third Committee under item 71, but the Committee will only act if a Member State or a group of States brings forward an initiative.

ISHR urges States to take up the matter before the Third Committee at UNGA81 and decide, in close consultation with victims, relatives of disappeared persons and civil society organisations, and in close collaboration with Mexico, on a clear process for following up on the Committee’s decision under Article 34.

ISHR calls on Mexico to engage constructively with the process, consistent with its long record of support for the Convention and to see it as an opportunity to receive support and find solutions to address disappearances in its jurisdiction. This is an opportunity for Mexico to demonstrate good faith cooperation, consistent with its support for international cooperation and effective human rights multilateralism.

 

Civil society guide to the Third Committee:

The Third Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly will meet in New York from 1 October to 20 November 2026. The session will include a general debate, interactive dialogues with UN human rights experts and mechanisms, and the negotiation and adoption of thematic and country-specific resolutions.

While civil society organisations do not have formal speaking rights during Third Committee meetings or interactive dialogues, NGOs and human rights defenders can engage with States and UN experts, provide information and recommendations ahead of interactive dialogues, advocate on resolutions, organise and participate in side events, and monitor negotiations and voting.

Useful links:

• Third Committee webpage – official information, documents and programme of work
• Third Committee programme of work – schedule of meetings and interactive dialogues
• UN Journal – daily information on UN meetings
• UN Web TV – live and archived webcasts of public Third Committee meetings
• Third Committee resolutions and voting records – draft and adopted texts and voting information

Informal meeting of the Third Committee Chair with civil society

6 October 2026, 13:15 | Conference Room 1

The Chair of the Third Committee will convene an informal meeting with civil society at the outset of the 81st session. The meeting provides a rare opportunity for civil society representatives to engage directly with the Committee’s leadership and raise priorities and concerns for the session. ISHR encourages civil society organisations to use the meeting to highlight substantive human rights priorities as well as opportunities to strengthen meaningful civil society engagement with the Third Committee.

 

Arrangements for general debate and debates on individual agenda items

This year, per the Programme of Work, delegations will have the option to inscribe to speak in the general debate (10 minutes for individual delegations and 12 minutes for groups) OR to inscribe to speak in the general discussions of individual items or clusters in accordance with the traditional sequence held before the 80th session (3 minutes for individual delegations and 4 minutes for groups).

Delegations or groups opting to deliver a statement in the general debate would not be able to inscribe in the individual general discussions lists. The general debate and the general discussions of individual items or clusters, each with its own pre-determined list of speakers, will take place consecutively, starting with the general debate, followed by the general discussion on item 24 (a,b,c), and so forth ending with the general discussion of item 65 (Report of the HRC), pursuant to the traditional sequence.

Civil society organisations cannot deliver statements but can engage with delegations in advance to encourage States to raise priority issues, country situations and individual cases. 

 

Interactive dialogues

During the session, Special Procedures mandate holders, representatives of UN human rights mechanisms, UN officials, representatives of UN entities and other experts will present reports and engage in interactive dialogues with Member States. Most experts will be present in person in the Third Committee, other than Treaty Body chairs who will present virtually due to the ongoing budget and liquidity crisis. 

Interactive dialogues provide an important opportunity for States to draw attention to human rights violations, raise individual cases, ask experts about implementation of their recommendations, and demonstrate political support for independent UN human rights mechanisms.

Civil society organisations cannot intervene directly in the dialogues but can brief experts and States in advance, propose questions and recommendations for delegations to raise, and use the dialogues to support national and international advocacy.

 

Resolutions:

The Third Committee will consider approximately 47 thematic and country-specific resolutions during the session, generally negotiated through informal consultations led by the main sponsor or sponsors (‘penholders’) before being presented to the Committee for action.

While civil society cannot participate directly in informal negotiations or the Committee’s formal proceedings, civil society organisations may follow draft texts and negotiations, share recommendations with delegations, advocate on language and priorities and monitor the adoption of resolutions. Adopted resolutions can support advocacy at national and international levels.

Thematic resolutions

1. Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty- fourth special session of the General Assembly
2. Follow up to the Twentieth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and Beyond
3. Inclusive development for persons with disabilities
4. Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing
5. Literacy for life: shaping future agendas
6. United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders 
7. Follow-up to the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and preparations for the 16th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 
8. Strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice responses to prevent and combat fraud 
9. Trafficking in Women and Girls
10. Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: the digital environment
11. Addressing the world drug problem through a comprehensive and balanced approach
12. Strengthening and promoting effective measures and international cooperation on organ donation and transplantation to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal and trafficking in human organs
13. Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations
14. Intensification of efforts to end obstetric fistula
15. The girl child
16. Child, early and forced marriage
17. Human Rights Defenders
18. Human rights treaty body system 
19. Freedom of religion or belief 
20. Right to development 
21. The right to food 
22. Human rights and unilateral coercive measures 
23. Promotion of peace as a vital requirement for the full enjoyment of all human rights by all 
24. Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order 
25. Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
26. Human rights and extreme poverty
27. Missing persons
28. The role of the Ombudsman and mediation institution in the promotion and protection of human rights
29. Moratorium on the use of the death penalty
30. Human rights in the administration of justice
31. Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights 
32. The right to privacy in the digital age
33. Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatisation, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief 
34. Combating glorification of Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
35. A global call for concrete action for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and elated intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 
36. Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa 
37. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
38. Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High
39. Commissioner for Refugees 
40. Report of the Human Rights Council 
41. Tentative programme of work of the Third Committee for the nth session of the General Assembly, submitted by the Chairman of the Committee 
42. Universal realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination 
43. Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self determination 
44. Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran X(name change) Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and minorities in Myanmar 
45. Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 
46. Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine) 
47. The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination 

 

Dialogues with UN human rights experts

During the Third Committee, Special Procedures mandate holders and other UN human rights mechanisms present reports and engage in interactive dialogues with Member States.

These dialogues provide important opportunities for States to raise human rights concerns, highlight individual cases, respond to experts’ recommendations and demonstrate political support for independent UN human rights mechanisms.

 

Interactive dialogues and presentations

Throughout the session, Special Procedures mandate holders, Treaty Body Chairs, investigative mechanisms and other UN human rights experts will present reports and engage in interactive dialogues with States (see provisional programme here). Unlike at the Human Rights Council, civil society organisations cannot deliver statements during Third Committee interactive dialogues, but can engage with mandate holders and delegations ahead of the dialogues, share information and cases, propose questions and recommendations for States to raise, and follow up on commitments made during the discussions.

 

Thematic mandates and expert mechanisms

The Third Committee is scheduled to hear from the following thematic mandate holders and expert mechanisms:

1. Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons
2. Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
3. Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
4. Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children
5. Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples
6. Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
7. Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity
8. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
9. Special Rapporteur on the right to food
10. Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
11. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
12. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons
13. Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
14. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
15. Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy
16. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
17. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
18. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
19. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
20. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
21. Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
22. Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy (Hansen’s disease) and their family members
23. Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
24. Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
25. Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights
26. Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights
27. Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
28. Special Rapporteur on minority issues
29. Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
30. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change
31. Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises
32. Special Rapporteur on the right to education
33. Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
34. Working Group on the Right to Development
35. Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development
36. Special Rapporteur on the right to development
37. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
38. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
39. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
40. International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement
41. Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination. provisional-list provisional-list provisional-list

Note that interactive dialogues with the Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, and the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes are expected to be confirmed following the renewal of these mandates at HRC63.

 

Country-specific mandates and mechanisms

The Third Committee is scheduled to hear from the following country-specific mandates and mechanisms:

1. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
2. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus
3. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation
4. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel
5. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
6. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua
7. Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar
8. Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
9. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
10. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan
11. Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic
12. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
13. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan
14. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi
15. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea
16. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran
17. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
18. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. 

 

Treaty Body Chairs

The Third Committee is scheduled to hear presentations from the Chairs of the following human rights treaty bodies:

1. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
2. Committee on the Rights of the Child
3. Human Rights Committee
4. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
5. Committee against Torture
6. Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
7. Committee on Enforced Disappearances
8. Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
9. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
10. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. provisional-list provisional-list

The Third Committee will also hear presentations from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the President of the Human Rights Council and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, alongside other UN entities and officials.

 

Human Rights in the Fifth Committee:

Decisions taken in the Third Committee and Human Rights Council depend on the resources approved by the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, which considers administrative and budgetary matters. At UNGA81, Fifth Committee negotiations on the 2027 programme budget, including Revised Estimates from the Human Rights Council, take place against the backdrop of the UN’s continuing financial crisis and the significant reductions already made under UN80, that severely impact human rights and undo progress achieved on the basis of the Pact for the Future’s commitment to act for increased, adequate, sustainable and predictable funding for the UN human rights pillar. 

States should mobilise joint efforts at the Fifth Committee to ensure adequate and sustainable resources for OHCHR and for other UN human rights bodies to fully deliver on their mandates, including those mandated by the Human Rights Council.

States who lead or support mandates at the Human Rights Council or the Third Committee should engage at the Fifth Committee to secure resources necessary for their full and effective implementation, and push back against disproportionate cuts to human rights, including by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

States should also ensure that efficiency and budgetary pressures do not translate into further erosion of the UN’s human rights capacity.

For more information, see ISHR’s Info Hub on the UN’s human rights budgets.