In this briefing paper, ISHR looks at the powerful role of China over the UN human rights treaty bodies (UNTBs), identifying the ways in which China deploys influence, from an official discourse that consistently focuses on restricting their scope of work to direct threats to independent NGOs who wish to engage with the UN experts.
ISHR sheds light on the attempts by Chinese diplomats to exert undue influence over the UN expert bodies that oversee compliance with major international human rights treaties and covenants, and makes recommendations for how stakeholders can strengthen the system’s ability to fight back.
As the world celebrates the international anti-corruption day and the 24th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders on this day, 9 December 2022, ISHR and 81 other organisations and individuals co-signed this public statement.
A joint statement released today, signed by 49 human rights groups from around the world, calls on China to immediately respect fundamental freedoms and cease targeting peaceful protesters.
In landmark ruling, the UN’s committee on racial discrimination has strongly condemned China’s persecution of Uyghurs, and decided, for the first time ever, to refer the situation to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Reiterating the most serious concerns expressed by the UN’s Human Rights Office and UN independent experts, the committee reminded governments of their obligation to put an end to the most serious human rights violations wherever they occur, in particular racial discrimination.
From 6-8 September 2022, ISHR welcomed civil society representatives from Asia and Africa to discuss the strategies and best practices to achieve better legislative protection for human rights defenders.
On Thursday 10 November, India’s human rights record came under scrutiny at the UN in the context of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
A group of States at the United Nations Human Rights Council betrayed principles of human rights, non-discrimination and accountability today in opposing a historic resolution in response to a UN report finding possible crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese government against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.
The 47 State Members of the UN Human Rights Council must decide whether to support or oppose a UN debate on human rights in Xinjiang. Hundreds of Uyghur and international rights groups, as well as over 40 UN experts, have long called for the establishment of a UN-mandated monitoring mechanism on China.
On 31 August 2022, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released its much-awaited report on serious human rights violations in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang). ISHR prepared a multilingual explainer to break down the report's findings.
