On 30 August 2022, the UN Human Rights Office concluded that the Chinese State may be responsible for committing crimes against humanity, in a report on human rights in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang). One year later, global pressure on Beijing remains high, ahead of a major UN human rights review in January.
14 NGOs that closely follow and engage with the General Assembly Third Committee have published a joint statement on outcomes of this 78th session.
Following substantial negotiations, UN Member States once again found common ground and reiterated their commitment to providing a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders in the Third Committee's adoption of this biennial resolution by consensus.
During the 78th Session of the General’s Assembly’s Third Committee, the Chairs of the ten human right Treaty Bodies reported significant performance constraints due to limited financial, human and technology resource investments from Member States. This must change!
ISHR and Outright International celebrate the adoption by United Nations Third Committee Member States today of a resolution on elections and democratic processes that, for the second time, specifically includes sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in people’s right to participate in public affairs.
On 26 October 2023, Victor Madrigal-Borloz presented his last report as the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity to the General Assembly’s Third Committee. On his final day, he also released four crucial statements.
As the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly meet to discuss the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip, ISHR makes eleven key calls to protect civilians and address root causes of the violence and conflict.
The United States took a stance at the United Nations General Assembly and mentioned specific cases and situations of reprisals during the dialogue with Assistant Secretary-General Ilze Brands Kehris, including cases ISHR had actively campaigned for.
On Thursday 12 October 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, presented her report on women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in conflict, post-conflict and crisis-affected settings to the General Assembly’s Third Committee. While she acknowledges the fundamental work of WHRDs in these contexts, the report highlights the vulnerability that comes with it.
At the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association highlighted the importance of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association for achieving sustainable peace and democratic transition. He further made recommendations to all stakeholders for ensuring the meaningful inclusion of civil society in these processes.
