High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk took up his mandate on 17 October 2022. We are keen to ensure that his priorities and approach are informed by the expertise and perspectives of human rights defenders and, for this purpose, compiled a collection of views to help shape a human rights defender agenda for his mandate. Read on!
The 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (12 September - 7 October), will consider issues including intimidation and reprisals, arbitrary detention, systemic racism, enforced disappearances, climate change, water and sanitation, the rights of indigenous peoples and people of African descent, and colonialism, among others. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations in States including Afghanistan, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Venezuela, among many others. Here's an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.
ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.
The 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council, from 13 June to 8 July 2022, will consider issues including 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 including in Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Eritrea, Israel and OPT, Russia, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.
An updated series of factsheets by ILGA World and ISHR show that throughout 2021 the UN Special Procedures have given more attention to LGBTI communities and continued raising concerns regarding human rights related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted today during its 49th session, by 20 votes in favour, a resolution that establishes for one year a "Group of Experts on Human Rights" with a mandate to investigate and seek accountability for serious human rights violations in Nicaragua
The Law, adopted in 2015, along with its Bylaw, adopted 2016, are fairly comprehensive as compared to the Model Law, with some rights missing.
More than 30 organisations from around the globe unite to protect human rights defenders. The Esperanza Protocol is endorsed by a number of UN experts and former rapporteurs of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
HRC48: Women defenders engaged in the defense of the right to land, territory and indigenous rights demand that the UN and the international community recognise their key role in protecting humanity and the environment.
Today, UN member States elected members to the UN's top human rights body, the Human Rights Council, for the 2022-2024 term. 18 candidates ran for 18 seats, and all were elected, leaving civil society disappointed in a process that can hardly be called an election.
