HRC41 | Key issues on agenda of June 2019 session

Business and human rights

Other key thematic reports

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:

• The Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers and on the right to health (including country visits report to Canada and Kyrgyzstan) on 24 June
• The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association (mandate renewal, reports include country visits to Tunisia and Armenia) on 25 June
• The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and right to education on 26 June
• The Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression (including thematic report on surveillance companies and country visit report to Ecuador) on 25 June
• The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (including country visits reports to the UK and Laos) on 28 June
• In addition, the Council will hold dedicated debates on rights of specific groups including with:
• The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants (and country visit report to Niger) on 24 June
• The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons on 28 June (mandate renewal)
• The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons (and country visit to Nigeria) on 27 June
• The Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members on 24 June

#HRC41 | Country-specific developments

China

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.

Sudan

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.

Saudi Arabia

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 ​

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.’

Egypt

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. 

Burundi

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.

Other country situations:

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:

• Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus (mandate renewal) on 1 July
• Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea (mandate renewal) on 2 July
• Interactive dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar on 2 July
• Enhanced interactive dialogue with the government of Sudan and OHCHR on 9 July
• Enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and and interactive dialogue with with the team of experts on the situation in the Kasai region on 9 July
• Interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner on the situation in Ukraine on 10 July
• Interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Central African Republic on 10 July
• Enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on Venezuela on 10 July
• Interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar on 10 July
• First oral update and enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on Nicaragua on 11 July
• Oral update by the High Commissioner on cooperation with Georgia on 11 July

Adoption of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports

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.

#HRC41 | Council programme, appointments and resolutions

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.

Resolutions to be presented to the Council’s 41st session

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.

1. Youth and human rights (Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Tunisia)
2. Right to education (Portugal)
3. Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights (Venezuela on behalf of NAM)
4. The human rights situation in Belarus (European Union)
5. Human rights of internally displaced persons (Austria, Honduras, Uganda)
6. Human rights and climate change (Bangladesh, Philippines, Viet Nam)
7. Access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand)
8. Human rights and the regulation of civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms (Ecuador, Peru)
9. Cooperation with and assistance to Ukraine in the field of human rights (Ukraine)
10. Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay).
11. Negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights  (Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, Poland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
12. Elimination of discrimination against women and girls (Colombia, Mexico)
13. Child, early and forced marriage  (Argentina, Canada, Ethiopia, Honduras, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Zambia)
14. Rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (Czech Republic, Indonesia, Lithuania, Maldives, Mexico)
15. New and emerging and digital technologies and human rights (Republic of Korea, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Morocco, Singapore)
16. Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (Canada)
17. Equal pay (Iceland)
18. The human rights situation in Syria (France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
19. The contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights (China). This was a new resolution in 2017, which some worried undermined universality and the interdependence of rights to imply that human rights protection depends on the level of development of a country. The resolution called for a report on the subject to the upcoming session of the Council, available here. It passed by vote, with 30 in favour, 13 against, and 3 abstentions. 

Panel discussions

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:

1. Annual discussion on the human rights of women titled “violence against women in the world of work” will take place on 27 June at 10:00. The panel will identify the challenges faced by women workers in seeking redress, and consider ways to address these at legal, policy and practical levels. It will pay particular attention to sectors where women workers are more at risk and analyze the role of various stakeholders, including trade unions and corporations at national and global levels.
2. Annul discussion on the human rights of women titled “the rights of older women and their economic empowerment” will take place on 28 June at 11:00. The panel will discuss the importance of protecting and promoting the rights of older women and eliminating gender-based discrimination throughout the life-course, as a means to benefit all women and girls in their enjoyment of human rights.
3. Panel discussion on women’s rights and climate change will take place on 28 June at 16:00. It will focus on good practices and lessons learned in the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls in the context of the adverse impact of climate change.
4. Annual thematic panel discussion on technical cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights, titled “Technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of the human rights of older persons”, will take place on 10 July at 9:00. The panel aims to facilitate exchange of views to strengthen technical cooperation and capacity-building activities to support States’ efforts to promote and protect the human rights of older persons and address implementation gaps in national legislation, policies and programmes.

#HRC41 | Side events

ISHR side events

• 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.

Other key side events

States and NGOs are holding a series of events. You can download the list of State events here and NGO events here.

• Promoting and Protecting Civic Space for Migrants and Refugees is organised by CIVICUS and Solidarity Center and will take place on 24 June at 12:00. This event will examine findings on civic space barriers for migrant/refugees in Germany, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia and Mexico from a new report by Solidarity Center and CIVICUS; provide an analysis of some of the civic space trends for migrants/refugees across the five countries; and hear from civil society activists on the ground.
• Health impacts for US Asylum is organised by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and will be held on 26 Jun at 10:00 in Room VIII. PHR will present findings from two reports about the asylum crisis in the United States with research based on forensic evaluations of more than 180 child asylum seekers regarding their trauma exposure in country of origin and reasons for fleeing, and documentation of cases where US immigration enforcement has impeded migrants access to emergency health care.
• Defending rights online: Challenges facing human rights defenders and a free and open Internet is organised by Article 19 and will be held on 26 June at 15:30 in Room VIII. It will discuss what more States at the Human Rights Council can do to bolster safeguards for the protection of human rights online, while also holding States accountable for violations of those rights. The panelists include the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and human rights defenders from Russia, Mexico, Tanzania and Tajikistan.
• Freedoms of expression, assembly, and association in Asia organised by Forum-Asia and will be held on 26 June 2019 at 15:00. This side event aims to discuss issues related to freedoms of expression, assembly, and association in Asian states.
• Ending Impunity for Murdered Journalists: Enhancing the role and impact of the UN is organised by Article 19 and will be held on 27 June at 11:30 in Room VIII. The panelists include the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, and Hatice Cengiz, Fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi. It will examine how the UN’s response to cases of murdered journalists might be enhanced.
• Criminalisation of solidarity in migration by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and OHCHR, and will be held on 27 June in  Kazakh Room – Cinema XIV. The event will feature the screening of the movie “The Valley” by Nuno Escudeiro, documenting the situation of human rights defenders and migrants in South of France, with an introductory panel and a discussion session after the movie (THE VALLEY is a coproduction Point du Jour (France), Miramonte Film (Italy) and was awarded the Emerging international filmmaker at the HOT DOCS film festival, Toronto. 
• Women’s rights under attack: the case of Poland, organised by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch, will take place on 27 June, at 13:00 in Room XV. This side-event will expose attempts to erode sexual and reproductive health and rights, campaigns against women’s rights organisations, and targeting of women’s rights activists – against the backdrop of a decline in the rule of law in the country. It will explore how international and regional organisations should address this concern in Poland and in the rest of the continent.
• Needs, best practices and risks of research and data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity’, organised by COC Nederland and sponsored by ISHR will be held on June 27 at 15:30 in Room V.
• Human Rights in Kashmir is organised by the International Commission of Jurists and will be held on 28 June at 13:00 in Room XXI. 
• The human rights problem of political marginalization is organised by Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (Bahrain) and CIVICUS, and will take place on 2 July at 12:00. Despite steadily rising levels of social and political marginalization in Bahrain, the government has sought to convey the  appearance of political stability. In a context where freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association are severely restricted, what strategies can civil society – in Bahrain and in other countries around the world – bring into play to reduce political marginalization?
• The situation of migrants and refugees rights in Brazil is organised by Conectas and will be held on 2 July at 14h in Room VIII. The event will discuss the rights of migrants and refugees in Brazil focusing on the situation of Venezuelans refugees coming to the country, the reasons why they are leaving Venezuela and how Brazil is responding to this situation.
• Human rights in Myanmar is organised by Physicians for Human Rights will be held on 1 July at 12:00 in Room VIII. PHR will provide an in-depth briefing on new research findings that reveal a painful, long-term legacy of the Rohingya Crisis and underscore the urgent need for accountability.
• Human rights in Myanmar is organised by Forum Asia and will be held on 1 July 2019 at 14:30 in Room VIII. Human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar will provide updates on the situation in the country since the last Council session.
• Upholding the rule of law: The UN database on businesses operating in the OPT is organised by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and will be held on 5 July at 14:00 in Room VIII. More than three years following the establishment of the Database mandate pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution 31/36– the results of this process are not being transmitted with the necessary transparency. The side event will focus on the importance of releasing the database as a public online platform of business enterprises engaged in business activities related to Israeli settlements.
• Human rights in the Sudan is organised by DefendDefenders and Physicians for Human Rights. It will be held on 8 July at 13:00 in Room XXIV. This event will bring Sudanese voices to the Council to speak about the situation in Sudan and the ongoing crackdown. 
• Human Rights in Venezuela is organised by the International Commission of Jurists and will be held on 8 July at 14:30 in Room IX. 

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.