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50-664: Depending on the specific mandate, there can also be working groups composed of an independent expert from each of the five UN regional groupings: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Western group. Their work falls within the scope of "special procedure" mechanisms under the United Nations Human Rights Council , and their contributions can advance human rights through

100-632: A Eurocentric version of the definition of human beings. Fanon Mendès-France acted as board member of the Jewish French Union for Peace and expressed solidarity and support for State of Palestine . Fanon Mendès-France is the daughter of the French political philosopher Frantz Fanon . She is a scholar of decolonisation and a member of the Frantz Fanon Foundation. According to Fanon Mendès-France, her father Frantz Fanon

150-762: A Consultative Group of five countries, one from each region. Following interviews by the Consultative Group, the Group provides a shortlist of candidates to the UNHRC President. Following consultations with the leadership of each regional grouping, the President presents a single candidate to be approved by the Member states of the UNHRC at the session following a new mandate's creation or on the expiration of

200-565: A Special Rapporteur for North Korea, with votes 22–7 and 18 abstentions (resolution 15, pp. 78–80). There were also varying degrees of dissent for most of the various reports criticising Israel; while on the other hand a large number of resolutions were taken unanimously without voting, including the rather severe criticism of Myanmar (resolutions 31 and 32), and the somewhat less severe on Sudan (resolution 16). Mireille Fanon Mend%C3%A8s-France Mireille Fanon Mendès-France , also Mireille Fanon-Mendès France (born 24 November 1953),

250-526: A complaint is verified as legitimate, an urgent letter or appeal is sent to the government that has allegedly committed the violation. If no complaint has been made, rapporteurs may intervene on behalf of individuals and groups of people of their own accord. Thematic special rapporteurs are typically appointed to serve for three years; after which their mandate may be extended for another three years. Country special rapporteurs are appointed to serve for one year; their term may be renewed every year. In June 2006,

300-412: A complaint should not publicly state the fact that they have submitted a complaint. To be accepted complaints must: The complaint procedure is not designed to provide remedies in individual cases or to provide compensation to alleged victims. Due to the confidential manner of the procedure, it is almost impossible to find out what complaints have passed through the procedure and also how effective

350-500: A particular area of human rights, or working groups, usually composed of five members (one from each UN region). As of August 2017 there were 44 thematic and 12 country mandates. The mandates of the special procedures are established and defined by the resolution creating them. Various activities can be undertaken by mandate-holders, including responding to individual complaints, conducting studies, providing advice on technical cooperation, and engaging in promotional activities. Generally

400-403: A particular treaty. Complaints are confidential and the UNHRC will only communicate with the complainant, unless it decides that the complaint will be addressed publicly. The interaction with the complainant and the UNHRC during the complaints procedure will be on an as-needed basis. UNHRC Resolution 5/1, paragraph 86, emphasizes that the procedure is victims-oriented. Paragraph 106 provides that

450-488: A special rapporteur in a grant given to The Center for Women's Global Leadership in 2017. According to special rapporteurs themselves, this situation is favored by the lack of means provided by the OHCHR . The specific funding of some mandates raises the inequality between them: while some struggle to pay operating costs, others are able to organize conferences across the globe to promote their work. The Special Procedures of

500-688: A special session to address human rights violations and emergencies, at the request of one-third of the member states. As of November 2023 , there had been 36 special sessions. The Council consists of 47 members, elected yearly by the General Assembly for staggered three-year terms. Members are selected via the basis of equitable geographic rotation using the United Nations regional grouping system . Members are eligible for re-election for one additional term, after which they must relinquish their seat. The seats are distributed along

550-541: A variety of activities, including, but not limited to improving access to redress, policy reform, mainstreaming human rights, raising human rights awareness, and acting to prevent or cease rights violations. The mandate by the United Nations has been to "examine, monitor, advise, and publicly report" on human rights problems through "activities undertaken by special procedures, including responding to individual complaints, psychological operations and manipulation via

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600-669: Is a French jurist and anti-racist activist. Fanon Mendès-France teaches at Paris Descartes University . She was also a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley in international law and conflict resolution. She has also worked for UNESCO and the French National Assembly . Together with Gilles Devers , she filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice on behalf of groups representing victims of Israeli attacks during

650-626: Is that a complaint can be made against any state, regardless of whether it has ratified a particular treaty . Due to the limited information that is provided on the complaints procedure it is hard to make comments on the process itself, the resources it uses versus its effectiveness. In addition to the UPR, the Complaint Procedure, and the Advisory Committee, the UNHRC's other subsidiary bodies include: "Special procedures"

700-624: Is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to gather expert observations and advice on human rights issues in all parts of the world. Special procedures are categorized as either thematic mandates, which focus on major phenomena of human rights abuses worldwide, or country mandates, which report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories. Special procedures can be either individuals (called " special rapporteurs " or "independent experts"), who are intended to be independent experts in

750-546: The 2008-2009 Gaza War . Since 2011, she has been an expert for the United Nations Working Group on People of African Descent. She was the president of that UN Working Group from 2014 to 2016. In an interview at the Council of Europe in 2020, Fanon Mendès-France called for a new Universal Declaration of Human Rights that has to be recast according to Fanon Mendès-France to no longer reflect

800-554: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin said that Russia had withdrawn from the council earlier in the day in expectation of the vote. Russia was only the second Human Rights Council member to be suspended from the UN body, after Libya in 2011, and it was the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to be suspended from any United Nations body. An important component of

850-723: The Open Society Foundations for instance have granted extensive financial and material support to specific rapporteurs, which could question the independence of their work. Furthermore, 52 of the 222 mandate holders since 2010 exercise, or have exercised responsibilities in the Open Society Foundations or an NGO funded by the Open Society or the Ford Foundation. The Open Society Foundations openly acknowledges that it wanted to influence

900-538: The United Nations Office at Geneva in Switzerland . The Council investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in United Nations member states and addresses thematic human rights issues like freedom of association and assembly , freedom of expression , freedom of belief and religion , women's rights , LGBT rights , and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities . The Council

950-590: The World Trade Organization . The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was the main subsidiary body of the CHR. The Sub-Commission was composed of 26 elected human rights experts whose mandate was to conduct studies on discriminatory practices and to make recommendations to ensure that racial, national, religious, and linguistic minorities are protected by law. In 2006,

1000-539: The Council consists of a periodic review of all 193 UN member states, called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The mechanism is based on reports coming from different sources, one of them being contributions from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Each country's situation will be examined during a three-and-a-half-hour debate. The first cycle of the UPR took place between 2008 and 2011,

1050-574: The General Assembly elect the members who occupy 47 seats of the Human Rights Council. The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms. The previous CHR had a membership of 53 elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) through a majority of those present and voting. The UNHRC holds regular sessions three times a year, in March, June, and September. The UNHRC can decide at any time to hold

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1100-404: The Human Rights Council as a forum and a springboard for action." — Ban Ki-moon , UN Secretary-General , 2007 The United Nations Human Rights Council ( UNHRC ) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The headquarters of the Council are at

1150-1980: The Human Rights Council currently oversees 45 thematic and 13 specific country mandates for which it can assign special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups. Mireille Fanon Mendès-France (France), 2011-2017 Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos (Greece), 2009 - 2011 Joe Frans (Sweden), 2002 - 2009 Maya Sahli (Algeria), 2008 - 2014 Peter Lesa Kasanda (Zambia), 2002 - 2008 Mirjana Najćevska (The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), 2008 - 2014 Irina Moroianu-Zlatescu (Romania), 2002 - 2008 Ricardo III Sunga (Philippines), 2014 - 2021 Monorama Biswas (Bangladesh), 2008 - 2014 George Nicolas Jabbour (Syrian Arab Republic), 2002 - 2008 Verene Shepard (Jamaica), 2010 - 2015 Ralston Milton Nettleford (Jamaica), 2008 - 2010 Roberto Borges Martins (Brazil), 2002 - 2008 Aslan Abashidze (Russian Federation), 2008 - 2010 Tamas Ban (Hungary), 2001 – 2008 Petr Uhl (Czech Republic), 1992 - 2001 Malick El Hadji Sow (Senegal), 2008 – 2014 Leila Zerrougui (Algeria), 2001 - 2008 Laity Kama (Senegal), 1992 - 2001 Roberto Garretón (Chile), 2008 – 2014 Soledad Villagra de Biedermann (Paraguay), 2002 - 2008 Roberto Garretón (Chile), 1992 - 2002 Shaheen Sardar Ali (Pakistan), 2008 - 2014 Seyyed Mahammad Hashemi (Islamic Republic of Iran), 2002 - 2008 Kapil Sibal (India), 1992 - 2001 Mads Andenæs (Norway), 2009 - 2015 Manuela Carmena (Spain), 2004 - 2009 Louis Joinet (France), 1992 – 2003 Puvan J. Selvanathan (Malaysia), 2011 – 2015. Michael Addo (Ghana), 2011 – 2018 Farida Shaheed (Pakistan), 2009 - 2015 Gerard Quinn (Ireland), 2020 - 2023 Ariel Dulitzky (Argentina), 2010 - 2017 Santiago Corcuera Cabezut (Mexico), 2004 - 2009 Diego García-Sayán (Peru), 1988 - 2004 Luis Varela Quiros (Costa Rica), 1980 - 1987 Jeremy Sarkin (South Africa), 2008 - 2014 United Nations Human Rights Council "All victims of human rights abuses should be able to look to

1200-591: The Special Rapporteur now has as his/her duty to report not only infringements of the rights to freedom of expression, but in some cases also employment of the rights, which "turns the special rapporteur's mandate on its head". Outside the UN, the amendment was criticised by organizations including Reporters Without Borders , Index on Censorship , Human Rights Watch , and the International Humanist and Ethical Union , all of whom share

1250-618: The UNHRC of cases that would be considered consistent patterns of gross human rights violations include alleged deterioration of human rights of people belonging to a minority, including forced evictions, racial segregation and substandard living conditions, and alleged degrading situation of prison conditions for both detainees and prison workers, resulting in violence and death of inmates. Individuals, groups, or NGOs can claim to be victims of human rights violations or that have direct, reliable knowledge of such violations. Complaints can be regarding any state, regardless of whether it has ratified

1300-469: The UNHRC under the complaint procedure since 2006. This was only available to the public as of 2014, however generally does not give any details regarding the situations that were under consideration other than the state that was involved. In some cases the information is slightly more revealing, for example a situation that was listed was the situation of trade unions and human rights defenders in Iraq that

1350-618: The United Nations Human Rights Council, which replaced the UN Commission on Human Rights, extended the mandates of all special rapporteurs by one year to enable it to conduct a review of the mandates and seek ways of strengthening their roles. However, special rapporteurs for countries which did not approve a special rapporteur came under question and the mandates of the special rapporteurs for Cuba and Belarus were not renewed. Other controversies between

1400-955: The United Nations, though they receive personnel and logistical support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and are often backed by charities and corporations. Each year, rapporteurs gather together for an annual meeting in Geneva, where they discuss issues of common interest, coordinate their work and meet with a range of stakeholders, including States and civil society organizations. Special rapporteurs often conduct fact-finding missions to countries to investigate allegations of human rights violations. They can only visit countries that have agreed to invite them. Aside from fact-finding missions, rapporteurs regularly assess and verify complaints from alleged victims of human rights violations . Once

1450-458: The WGC. The UNHRC considered four complaints in their 19th session in 2012. The majority of the situations that have been considered have since been discontinued. History shows that the procedure works almost in a petition like way; if enough complaints are received then the UNHRC is very likely to assign a special rapporteur to the state or to the issue at hand. It has been said that an advantage of

1500-404: The complaint procedure shall ensure that complainants are informed of the proceedings at the key stages. The WGC may request further information from complainants or a third party. Following the initial screening a request for information will be sent to the state concerned, which shall reply within three months of the request being made. WGS will then report to the UNHRC, which will usually be in

1550-436: The contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto", and that "members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights". Under those provisions, and in response to a recommendation made by the Council's members, on 1 March 2011 the General Assembly voted to suspend Libya's membership in

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1600-423: The controlled media and academia, conducting studies, providing advice on technical cooperation at the country level, and engaging in general promotional activities." Appointed by the Human Rights Council of the UN, these mandate-holders act independently of governments and as such play an important role in monitoring sovereign nations and democratically elected governments and policies. The earliest such appointment

1650-416: The duties of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, passed by the Human Rights Council on 28 March 2008, gave rise to sharp criticism from western countries and human rights NGOs. The additional duty is phrased thus: (quoted from p. 67 in the official draft record of the council). The amendment was proposed by Egypt and Pakistan and passed by 27 votes to 15 against, with three abstentions with

1700-441: The following lines: The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership. The suspension process requires a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly. The resolution establishing the UNHRC states that "when electing members of the Council, Member States shall take into account

1750-415: The form of a draft resolution or decision on the situation referred to in the complaint. The UNHRC will decide on the measures to take in a confidential manner as needed, but this will occur at least once a year. As a general rule, the period of time between the transmission of the complaint to the state concerned and consideration by the UNHRC shall not exceed 24 months. Those individuals or groups who make

1800-520: The light of the situation in the country in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi 's "violent crackdown on anti-government protestors"; Libya was reinstated as a Council member on 18 November 2011. On 7 April 2022, just days after photographic and video material of the Bucha massacre emerged, the eleventh emergency special session of the General Assembly suspended Russia from the council due to the gross and systematic violations of human rights committed during

1850-862: The newly created UNHRC assumed responsibility for the Sub-Commission. The Sub-Commission's mandate was extended for one year (to June 2007), but it met for the final time in August 2006. At its final meeting, the Sub-Commission recommended the creation of a Human Rights Consultative Committee to provide advice to the UNHRC. In September 2007, the UNHRC decided to create an Advisory Committee to provide expert advice with 18 members, distributed as follows: five from African states; five from Asian states; three from Latin American and Caribbean states; three from Western European and other states; and two members from Eastern European states. The UNHRC complaint procedure

1900-421: The procedure is the confidential manner, which offers the ability to engage with the state concerned through a more [diplomatic] process, which can produce better results than a more adversarial process of public accusation. The procedure is considered by some a useful tool to have at the disposal on the international community for situations where naming and shaming has proved ineffective. Also another advantage

1950-416: The procedure is. There is a principle of non-duplication, which means that the complaint procedure cannot take up the consideration of a case that is already being dealt with by a special procedure, a treaty body or other United Nations or similar regional complaints procedure in the field of human rights. On the UNHRC website under the complaints procedure section there is a list of situations referred to

2000-440: The second cycle between 2012 and 2016, and the third cycle began in 2017 and is expected to be completed in 2021. The General Assembly resolution establishing the Council provided that "the Council shall review its work and functioning five years after its establishment". The main work of the review was undertaken in an Intergovernmental Working Group established by the Council in its Resolution 12/1 of 1 October 2009. The review

2050-504: The special procedures mandate-holders report to the Council at least once a year on their findings. Mandate-holders of the special procedures serve in their personal capacity, and do not receive pay for their work. The independent status of the mandate-holders is crucial to be able to fulfill their functions in all impartiality. The OHCHR provides staffing and logistical support to aid each mandate-holders in carrying out their work. Applicants for Special Procedures mandates are reviewed by

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2100-448: The special rapporteurs and the council include the introduction of a code of conduct which initially disallowed the special rapporteurs from addressing the media. However a compromise was reached and a code of conduct now exists for the special rapporteurs. Recently, the funding of the special rapporteurs was also questioned, as several special rapporteurs appear to be partly funded by universities and private actors. The Ford Foundation and

2150-537: The support of other members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference , China, Russia, and Cuba. As a result of the amendment over 20 of the original 53 co-sponsors of the main resolution – to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur – withdrew their support, though the resolution was carried by 32 votes to 0, with 15 abstentions. Inter alia the delegates from India and Canada protested that

2200-405: The term of an existing mandate holder. Country mandates must be renewed yearly by the UNHRC; thematic mandates must be renewed every three years. Mandate-holders, whether holding a thematic or country-specific mandate, are generally limited to six years of service. The list of thematic special procedures mandate-holders can be found here: United Nations special rapporteur The amendments to

2250-414: The view that the amendment threatens freedom of expression. In terms of the finally cast votes, this was far from the most controversial of the 36 resolutions adapted by the 7th session of the Council. The highest dissents concerned combating defamation of religions, with 21 votes for, 10 against, and 14 abstentions (resolution 19, pp. 91–97), and the continued severe condemnation of and appointment of

2300-447: Was considered in 2012, but the UNHRC decided to discontinue that consideration. The complaints procedure has been said to be too lenient due to its confidential manner. Some have often questioned the value of the procedure, but 94% of states respond to the complaints raised with them. The OHCHR receives between 11,000 and 15,000 communications per year. During 2010–11, 1,451 out of 18,000 complaints were submitted for further action by

2350-710: Was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006 to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR). The Council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and engages the United Nations special procedures . The Council has been strongly criticized for including member countries that engage in human rights abuses. The members of

2400-441: Was established on 18 June 2007 (by UNHRC Resolution 5/1) for reporting of consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world and under any circumstances. The UNHRC set up two working groups for its Complaint Procedure: The Chairman of the WGC screens complaints for admissibility. A complaint must be in writing, and cannot be anonymous. Examples provided by

2450-552: Was finalized in March 2011, by the adoption of an "Outcome" at the Council's 16th session, annexed to Resolution 16/21. First cycle: The following terms and procedures were set out in General Assembly Resolution 60/251: Second cycle: HRC Resolution 16/21 brought the following changes: Similar mechanisms exist in other organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency , Council of Europe , International Monetary Fund , Organization of American States , and

2500-410: Was the 1980 Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances responding to Commission on Human Rights resolution 20 (XXXVI). The first special rapporteur, responsible for monitoring extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, began work in 1982 following the approval of Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1982/35. Rapporteurs do not receive any financial compensation for their work from

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