The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (the Commission), is the main human rights organ of the UN system. The Commission is made up of 53 member states elected proportionally from among the five regional groups at the UN: African, Asian, East European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western and Others.
The Commission meets annually for a six-week session in March/April in Geneva. Over 3,000 delegates from member and observer states and from non-governmental organizations participate in the Commission. During its regular annual session, the Commission adopts some one hundred resolutions, decisions and statements of the Chairperson on a wide range of human rights themes and countries.
What does the Commission do?
The Commission on Human Rights is competent to discuss any human rights issue in the world. The Commission elaborates and adopts new human rights standards and develops existing standards. It appoints rapporteurs, experts members of the working groups and other independent experts to carry out thematic and country-specific monitoring or to undertake studies on human rights questions. The Commission may also adopt resolutions on themes and countries, intended to express a “political” message. It also provides a forum at which governments, intergovernmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations and human rights victims can exchange information and views.
The Commission begins its session with a four-day ‘high level segment’ featuring statements by Government dignitaries, usually at the ministerial level. The Commission then considers questions on its agenda, including: The right to self-determination; racism and other forms of discrimination; the right to development; economic, social and cultural rights; civil and political rights, including torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and summary executions, freedom of expression, the independence of the judiciary, impunity and religious intolerance; the human rights of women, children, migrant workers, minorities and displaced persons; the rights of indigenous persons; the work of the Sub-Commission on the promotion and protection of human rights; the work of human rights treaty bodies; national human rights institutions; and advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights. One agenda item (item 9) is devoted to discussing country-specific human rights situations and another deals particularly with human rights in Palestine (item 8).
Which states are members of the 61st session (2005) of the Commission ?
The members of the 61st session of the Commission are Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zimbabwe.
The officers (Bureau members) of the 61st session of the Commission are the Chairperson Ambassador Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), the Vice Chairpersons Ambassador Hernan Martinez (Ecuador), Ambassador Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine (Mauritania), Ambassador Anatoliy Zlenko (Ukraine) and the Rapporteur Deirdre Kent (Canada).
What are the “special procedures” of the Commission?
To fulfil its mandate of protection and promotion of human rights, the Commission has established the special procedures mechanism. The special procedures are made up of individuals serving as experts on specific human rights themes or on the human rights situations in particular countries. Presently, some 42 experts, appointed for one to three years, cover 26 themes and 15 individual countries. The experts are appointed in their personal capacity and do not represent governments or non-governmental organisations.
Some of the themes presently covered by special procedures are: summary executions; arbitrary detention; enforced or involuntary disappearances; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of religion or belief; human rights defenders; independence of judges and lawyers; internally displaced persons; mercenaries; rights of migrants; racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; trafficking; violence against women; right to education; right to food; rights of indigenous people; right to health; right to adequate housing; impunity; human rights and extreme poverty; structural adjustment polices and foreign debt; toxic and dangerous products and waste; and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. Some country situations covered by special procedures are: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea,
Haiti, Liberia, Myanmar, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan and Uzbekistan. While mandates are often renewed, an expert is expected to hold a position for a maximum of six years.
In carrying out their mandates, experts research issues of concern, visit relevant countries, interact with governmental and non-governmental representatives, and some receive and consider complaints from victims of human rights violations. Many also intervene with governments on behalf of such victims. They then report their findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Commission and sometimes also to the United Nations General Assembly.
Who are the experts of the Commission?
The experts come from various backgrounds. They are, for example, lawyers, judges, academics, economists and journalists who are chosen for their experience, their integrity and their impartiality. Experts are mandated to act independently of governmental and non-governmental influence, and are immune from legal process of any kind in relation to what they say, write or do in the course of carrying out their mission. They are not paid for their work with the UN.
Why are different experts given different titles?
The term ‘expert’ covers various titles bestowed by the Commission. Such titles include Special Rapporteur, Independent Expert, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General. These titles, resulting from political negotiations, have no inherent hierarchy, nor do they necessarily indicate the nature of the powers to be exercised by the experts. A mandate is usually entrusted to an individual expert, although in some cases a working group of five experts from among the regional groupings may be appointed.
Who selects the experts?
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are usually selected by the Chairperson of theCommission after consultation with the Bureau, integrated by the five regional representatives mentioned above. Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and some independent experts are selected by the Secretary-General upon the recommendation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Experts may serve a maximum of six years in a mandate.
How effective is the work of the experts in improving human rights situations?
The effectiveness of this system depends on the extent to which an expert’s research is followed by action on the ground; therefore it is difficult to quantify. However, the continuing examination of a situation lets victims know that they are neither forgotten nor alone, provides them with the opportunity to voice their concerns, and reminds the perpetrators of human rights violations that they are being watched.
What is the Sub-Commission?
The Sub-Commission for the promotion and protection of human rights, the main subsidiary body of the Commission, is composed of 26 independent experts elected by the Commission to act in their personal capacity for a period of four years. The Sub-Commission holds its regular session every year in July/August for three weeks in Geneva.
The Sub-Commission assists the work of the Commission by undertaking studies on human rights issues and making recommendations to the Commission concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms and elaborating new international standards on human rights. The Sub-Commission is frequently described as the ‘think-tank’ for the Commission.
Some issues currently under consideration in the Sub-Commission include: administration of justice; economic, social and cultural rights; and prevention of discrimination. New issues are identified regularly. The Sub-Commission typically breaks into smaller working groups who work on specific issues of priority.