RBEC Human Rights and Justice Community of Practice Meeting

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• RBEC Human Rights and Justice Community of
  Practice Meeting
• (Prague, 25-26 November 2005)

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UN (Human Rights) Reforms

• Since the appointment in 1997, the SG has
  initiated three major reforms
• Renewing the United Nations A Programme for
  Reform (1997)
• Strengthening the United Nations An Agenda for
  Further Change (2002)
• In Larger Freedom Towards Development, Security
  and Human Rights (2005)

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In Larger Freedom

• Builds upon two wide-ranging reviews of global
  challenges commissioned by the SG a) Investing
  in Development A Practical Plan to Achieve the
  Millennium development Goals .
• b) A more secure world, our shared
  responsibilty (Report of the High-level Panel on
  Threats, Challenges and Change)

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High-Level Panel

• Four key recommendations
• a) Elevating the Commission on Human Rights to a
  Human Rights Council
• b) Universal membership (the current Commission
  has 53 members)
• c) Global Human Rights Report
• d) Expanded consultative role for the High
  Commissioner for Human Rights within the Security
  Council

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In Larger Freedom

• Wide-ranging proposals, ranging from
• Extending the membership of the Security Council
• Scaled-up commitments to achieve the 0.7 per cent
  Official Development Assistance target before
  2015
• Transforming the Commission on Human Rights into
  a new Human Rights Counci.

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• In Larger Freedom proposed that the Human
  Rights Council be
• a) smaller (requiring strict criteria,
  (directly contradicting the universal proposal
  by the HLP)
• b) Standing body (sit permanently or at least
  when required
• c) Either a principal organ of the UN or a
  subsidiary body of the General Assembly
• d) In either case, be elected by a 2/3 majority
  of the General Assembly members present and
  voting.
• e) Those elected should undertake to abide by
  the highest human rights standards.
• (Both Reports fell short in their perfunctory
  assessment of what the proposed Council might
  offer that the Commission could not offer. The
  Reports recognised the symptoms and not the root
  causes.

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Discussions during the 61st session of the
Commission on Human Rights

• Many states that the introduction of criteria was
  doubtful on many counts. Who would draft the
  criteria and judge a State's human rights record?
  Would the proposal be too exclusive and not cut
  out developing countries? Would the principle of
  equitable geographic distribution (of seats) be
  maintained? Was not the limited membership not
  too sharp a contrast with the idea of
  universalizing the membership of the Commission
  on Human Rights?
• The SG had proposed that members of the Human
  Rights Council should undertake to abide by the
  highest human rights standards. Who has the
  solid human rights record? What could be the
  possible benchmarks in that regard? Should those
  benchmarks include action by States to become
  parties to all major human rights treaties?
  Standing invitations to UN Special
  Procedures?
• Whether the proposed Human Rights Council would
  truly treat the causes of human rights problems?
  Not clear how the proposed scheme would ensure a
  legitimate and effective membership?
• What would be the mandate of the Council and its
  relations with the other bodies of the United
  Nations? What would be the composition of the
  Council? What would be the role of Regional
  Groupings?
• Since it had been proposed that it should be a
  standing body (equal standing with the GA),
  whether the UN Charter needed any amendment(s)?

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Open-ended Informal Consultations on HRs Reform
(Geneva, 20 June 2005)-main issues

• Many
• supported elevation of the CHR into a standing
  Human Rights body. Subsidiary body of the GA
  .elevating the Commission into a principal body
  would require amendment to the UN Charter
  (complicated procedure).
• said that the Membership ..be similar to, if
  not, broader than that of the current
  Commissionshould not be subjected to any
  criteria or pre-conditionselection by a simple
  majorityEquitable geographic distribution of
  seats between regional groups.establish a
  rotation among members and thus limit the number
  of consecutive mandates of any given member to a
  maximum of two. Should not in any respect be
  linked to the Security Council others insisted
  that it should be able to make specific
  recommendations to the Security Council
• Supported that the existence of the subsidiary
  bodies of the Commission, particularly the
  Sub-Commission and its Working Groups.
• Constructive participation of NGOs supported.

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2005 World Summit Outcome Document

• On Human Rights Council
• Resolved to create the Human Rights Council
  (para.157)
• should address situations of violations of
  human rights, including gross and systematic, and
  make recommendations thereon (to whom???). It
  should also promote effective coordination and
  mainstreaming of human rights within the UN
  system (para. 159).
• During the 60th session..conduct negotiations on
  the mandate, modalities, functions, size,
  composition, membership, working methods etc
  (para.160)

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Open-ended informal consultations on the
establishment of the Human Rights Council
(Geneva 22.11.2005)

• The GA Resolution on the HRC should set only the
  main parameters..should be a standing
  body.....many favoured it as a subsidiary organ
  of the GAthe Special Procedures be transferred
  to the CouncilCouncil membership to a maximum of
  two terms NGO roles preservedmajority stressed
  that the membership of a new human rights body be
  similar to, if not, broader than that of the
  current Commission..simple majority.should not
  be linked to the Security Council etc..