Eleven States vying for seats at the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 joined ISHR and Amnesty International’s annual pledging event, outlining their commitments to advancing the human rights agenda and fielding questions from civil society.
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.
ISHR, along with 23 organisations, highlight attacks and targeting of trans and gender diverse defenders; the Independent Expert on SOGI examines the construction of gender in international law, a Group of Friends of the mandate of the Independent Expert is formed; and 27 States call on the Council to urgently protect the human rights of trans people.
10 years after the first SOGI resolution was passed at the Council, 27 States launch the Group of Friends of the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Tess McEvoy from ISHR and Gabriel Galil from ILGA World tell the story.
Michelle Bachelet addressed the General Assembly for the second year in her capacity as High Commissioner for Human Rights on 15 October 2019. Following calls at last year’s interactive dialogue for the reinstatement of the High Commissioner’s yearly report for the General Assembly, this year Bachelet presented her latest report (A/74/36) before a packed Third Committee.
ISHR was honoured to meet and interview Flor Calfunao Paillalef, a Geneva-based indigenous peoples' rights defender and Apo Werken (i.e. "Ambassador") of the Mapuche people to the UN.
Abusing independent experts and downplaying the value of their work is unacceptable and counterproductive; instead States should be making much more of their work, to prevent human rights violations. This was the President of the Human Rights Council's message to the General Assembly, following threats made against UN experts by the government of Burundi.
ISHR has called on the Human Rights Council President to urge 55 States to respond to communications by UN experts regarding alleged human rights violations.
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Finally a moment of relief after weeks of anguish: deportation of Mapuche defender Flor Calfunao Paillalef was suspended by the UN Committee against Torture.
Human rights defender Flor Calfunao Paillalef can be expelled from Switzerland to Chile at any time, despite the death threats and other abuses affecting her family in Chile. The decision of the State Migration Service undermines Flor's ability to do her work as a human rights defender and calls into question Switzerland's otherwise strong support for the work of defenders.
