Conference primer: Human Rights Council: 2023 - HRC52

Palais des Nations, Room XX.

During the week-long session, the Committee’s 18 independent experts* – who serve as the Council’s think tank – will continue its work on the following mandates:
- the impact of new technologies for climate protection on the enjoyment of human rights (HRC resolution 48/14)
- the advancement of racial justice and equality (HRC resolution 48/18)

Ambassadors of Bolivia, the Gambia, Luxembourg and the Maldives Elected to Serve as Vice Presidents for Next Year GENEVA, (9 December 2022) – The Human Rights Council today elected Ambassador Václav Bálek, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations Office at Geneva, to serve as its President for a one-year term beginning on 1 January 2023.
9 December 2022

Draft proposals and Notes Verbales

In accordance with paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, the Council shall consist of 47 Member States, which shall be elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly.
27 September 2022

Including link to downloads of Timetable and Troïkas

Information on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) segment of the Human Rights Council. This includes dates and time of sessions for each country and links to each country's page.
(Not an official OHCHR website)

Il y a la résistance armée. Il y a les sanctions économiques. Et il y a une offensive judiciaire sans précédent par sa rapidité et par l’étendue de sa gamme. La justice est la troisième arme de l’Ukraine face à l’invasion russe. Juridictions internationales, régionales et nationales sont mobilisées. Quel instrument sert à quoi dans cet usage stratégique du droit face au retour de la guerre en Europe ? Voici la carte de cette bataille parallèle.

There is armed resistance, a panoply of economic sanctions, and then there is a judicial offensive unprecedented in its speed and range. Justice is Ukraine’s third weapon in response to the Russian invasion, with international, regional and national jurisdictions mobilizing. Which instruments are being used for what in this strategic legal fight against a return to war in Europe? Here we publish a map of this parallel battle.

Dire humanitarian crises are piling up across the world, yet the United Nations’ human rights watchdog is still strapped for cash, its chief warned Wednesday.
Geneva Solutions, 4 June 2023

International Geneva is an important hub for multilateralism. But it is facing some unprecedented challenges.
Also available in Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, Italian and Portuguese
Swissinfo, 16 May 2023

A hundred years after a proclamation on the rights of children was first drafted, aid groups say they still lack protection, particularly in conflict situations. Michel Anglade of Save the Children, whose founder was the original author of what became the Geneva Declaration, explains how.
Geneva Solutions News, 16 May 2023

The grave rights violations allegedly being committed against children by Russian troops in Ukraine in the last year merits listing in the upcoming annual report on children and armed conflict by the United Nations secretary-general, says a new study by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. PassBlue, 9 May 2023

The Human Rights Council is set to hold an emergency session on Sudan on Thursday, where its members will table a proposal to ramp up oversight of the situation as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.
Geneva Solutions News, 8 May 2023

On April 15, 2023, fighting broke out in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at the time official military forces in the country. The fighting rapidly spread to other cities and towns throughout the country, including to Darfur in Sudan’s western region and to eastern Sudan.
Human Rights Watch News, 25 April 2023

As the United Nations human rights body wound up its nearly six-week-long session, a unique proposal presented by Haiti – after being amended – was approved by member states.
The Caribbean nation requested not only that a human rights expert be appointed to review the situation in the country but also “international coordinated and targeted action” from UN member states to deal with a dire humanitarian situation worsened by gang violence.
Geneva Solutions, 4 April 2023

The United Nations body in Geneva held a meeting on the situation in Belarus on Wednesday as the crackdown on human rights in the country continues to deepen. Nada Al-Nashif, UN deputy commissioner for human rights, told the council that her office had found “systematic, widespread and gross violations” committed in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.
Geneva Solutions, 31 March 2023

Des experts délivrent leurs analyses après que la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a délivré des mandats d'arrêt à l'encontre de Vladimir Poutine.
JusticeInfo.net, 21 mars 2023

Le 17 mars, la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a annoncé qu'elle avait délivré des mandats d'arrêt à l'encontre de Vladimir Poutine et de sa responsable de la protection de l'enfance, pour la déportation forcée d'enfants en tant que crime de guerre. Un rapport de l'ONU publié la veille fait état de crimes de guerre massifs commis par la Russie en Ukraine, y compris ce transfert forcé d'enfants. En voici le détail.
JusticeInfo.net, 20 mars 2023

European Union backing for Libyan authorities who stop and detain migrants means the bloc has "aided and abetted" rights violations against migrants, an investigator for a U.N. mission said on Monday.
Reuters, 27 March 2023

In their latest report released on Thursday, a commission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council last year found that Russia has committed “numerous violations of international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes.”
Based on more than 500 interviews, satellite images and visits to destruction sites, graves and detention centres, the report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine detailed a range of war crimes committed by Russian forces spanning attacks on civilian infrastructure, wilful killing and unlawful confinement.
Geneva Solutions, 20 March 2023

Celebrating 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 30 years of the Paris Principles: Reflecting where we are and where we go from here
Thursday 16 March 2023, 10:00 – 13:00 & 15:00 – 18:00 I Geneva, Palais des Nations

Nobel peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to ten years in prison on Friday by a court in his native Belarus as part of President Alexander Lukashenko’s ongoing crackdown on dissent.
Bialiatski and three co-defendants from his organisation Viasna (Spring), Belarus’s most prominent human rights groups, were charged with financing protests and smuggling money, in what has been denounced as a “sham trial”.
Geneva Solutions, 7 March 2023

As the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 75, we look at how it came about and if it is still relevant.
Article available in 10 languages: DE, ES, PT, ZH, AR, FR, RU, JA and IT
Swissinfo, 6 March 2023

Opening at a conjuncture of UN and global anniversaries, the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council points to a growing number of rights violations that the body has to take on.
Geneva Solutions, 1 March 2023

For many NGOs, the UN Human Rights Council is the ultimate advocacy platform. But an obscure New York-based body often makes access difficult.
Swissinfo, 1 March 2023

One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the ongoing war will take centre stage at the Human Rights Council as will crises gripping other regions.
This week is expected to be among the busiest in years at the Palais des Nations. Nearly 100 ministers and other high ranking officials will gather at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva for the start of the Human Rights Council, with another 50 speaking by video message.
Geneva Solutions, 26 February 2023

By eating away at the independence of the UN human rights treaty bodies, China is effectively attempting to weaken human rights standards everywhere.
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), 25 January 2023

We are concerned by the continued devastating impact of the fighting in Sudan on civilians. This week alone, an attack striking a busy livestock market in the capital Khartoum left at least eight civilians dead, among them at least three members of the same family. The air strike on Al-Muwaliyyah market on 7 June was allegedly carried out by the Sudan Armed Forces. In another incident on 7 June, a child was reportedly killed after a shell hit his family home in the Al-Shajraa district, in southern Khartoum.
OHCHR News, 9 June 2023

The full realization of human rights for all is a “work in progress”, and the world must now adapt and update its thinking to respond to current “dramatic rollbacks”, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday, marking the 30th anniversary of both his office and the global agreement that created it.
UN News, 6 June 2023

2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its 30 articles affect everyone’s lives – from the need to close the gender pay gap to ensuring everyone has access to education. The year is therefore an opportunity to rejuvenate thinking on how the Declaration is relevant to people today, as human rights bring solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.
OHCHR News, 24 May 2023

In December last year, I launched our year-long commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We have since issued a series of initiatives calling on States and all others to make pledges, and to take clear steps to fulfil the promises of the Universal Declaration.
OHCHR News, 24 May 2023

The UN expert on human rights in Sudan on Tuesday described the level of civilian suffering from the ongoing fighting as dehumanizing.
OHCHR News, 23 May 2023

International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia This is a day when we stand up for the diversity of humankind, celebrate the incredible achievements of lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex and queer people, and applaud their continuing struggle for equality and human rights. Whatever our sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics, all of us are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
OHCHR News, 17 May 2023

Secretary-General António Guterres, marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on Wednesday, urging UN Member States to protect the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
UN News, 16 May 2023

A declaration by Sudan’s warring parties committing to protect civilians is an “important first step”, after more than three weeks of heavy fighting, the UN’s top official in the African nation said on Friday.
UN News, 12 May 2023

Alors que nous célébrons la Journée internationale contre l’homophobie, la transphobie et la biphobie, la constatation est saisissante. Partout dans le monde, les personnes LGBTQI+ continuent de connaître la violence, la persecution, les discours haineux, l’injustice, voire le meurtre pur et simple.
UN Press, 11 May 2023

Sudan’s descent into violent conflict and humanitarian catastrophe came under the scrutiny of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, as Member States called an emergency session of the body in Geneva. Member States adopted a resolution including a request for detailed monitoring and reporting of all alleged rights abuses, to be carried out by the designated expert for the country, including the current upsurge in violence.
UN News, 11 May 2023

Abusive rhetoric by politicians, the media and social commentators has trickled down to create a culture of increasingly abusive and hateful speech against LGBT persons in the United Kingdom, the UN-appointed independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity warned today.
UN News, 11 May 2023

“Brutal and undignified” forms of punishment in Afghanistan and the use of capital punishment coupled with a lack of fair trial guarantees, violate international law and must stop immediately, a group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts said on Thursday.
UN News, 11 May 2023

The “frightening” number of executions carried out this year in Iran prompted the UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday, to call on the country’s authorities to abolish the death penalty or halt all executions.
UN News, 9 May 2023

The number of internally displaced (IDPs) in Sudan has more than doubled in just the last week, since armed clashes erupted between rival militaries in multiple cities across Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
UN News, 9 May 2023

The use of corporal punishment by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan runs counter to international law and must stop, the UN Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA), said on Monday.
UN News, 8 May 2023

The existence of slavery by descent in Mali continues to generate horrific human rights violations including torture, kidnapping and rape, UN-appointed independent human rights experts said on Monday.
UN News, 8 May 2023

The UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice in policing, ended a 12-day visit to the United States on Friday, calling on Washington to boost efforts to promote accountability for past and future violations.
UN News, 5 May 2023

GENEVA (5 May 2023) - The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session to address “the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan”. It will be webcast live on webtv.un.org in the six official languages of the UN.
OHCHR News, 5 May 2023

On Wednesday, a large group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts expressed concern over the possibly imminent execution of three members of the Howeitat tribe in Saudi Arabia, urging authorities to stop the process.
UN News, 3 May 2023

UN experts* today strongly condemned Singapore’s execution of Tangaraju s/o Suppiah on Tuesday (26) and called on the Government to impose an immediate moratorium on capital punishment in the country. Tangaraju, a 46-year-old Tamil national from Singapore, was executed despite claims that he had not been provided with adequate interpretation during police interrogations. He was subsequently convicted of drug trafficking.
OHCHR News, 28 April 2023

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has called on authorities in Russia and Ukraine to investigate, and publicly condemn recently surfaced audio online, which appears to confirm the summary execution of prisoners of war (POWs), as well as a threat to take no further prisoners on the battlefield.
UN News, 25 April 2023

As a major exchange of prisoners linked to Yemen’s longstanding war began on Friday, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg urged the warring sides to continue their search for a peaceful future for the embattled country.
UN News, 14 April 2023

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for the appointment of an independent rights expert on Haiti, amid mounting concern over deadly gang violence engulfing the country, threatening livelihoods, and pushing half the population into hunger.
UN News, 4 April 2023

“Tragic” accounts of State-sponsored abductions and enforced disappearances in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) require action from the country’s authorities, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Tuesday.
UN News, 28 March 2023

GENEVA (30 March 2023) – At a moment of increased violence in the occupied Palestinian territory, with the new Israeli government threatening even further annexation, the international community must take firm and principled action to protect the human rights and dignity of Palestinians, a UN expert said today.

The international community must take firm and principled action to protect the human rights and dignity of Palestinians, amid mounting violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the threat of even further annexation, an independent UN-appointed rights expert said on Thursday.
UN News, 30 March 2023

UN-appointed independent human rights investigators on Monday said there are grounds to believe that Libyan authorities and armed militia groups have been responsible for “a wide array” of war crimes, and crimes against humanity in recent years.
UN News, 27 March 2023

The human rights situation in Ukraine as Russia continues its military campaign following last year’s full-scale invasion, remains dire, according to a new report released on Friday by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) covering the six months to the end of January.
UN News, 24 March 2023

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday once again added his voice to international condemnation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, telling the Human Rights Council that it had “triggered the most massive violations of human rights we are living today”.
UN News, 27 February 2023

Le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme, Volker Türk, a lancé vendredi un appel de fonds de 452 millions de dollars pour aider à financer le travail essentiel du Haut-Commissariat en 2023 et « pour donner vie aux droits de l’homme dans toutes les régions du monde ».
ONU Info, 20 janvier 2023

The ongoing collapse of the rule of law and judicial independence in Afghanistan is “a human rights catastrophe”, UN-appointed independent human rights experts warned on Friday.
UN News, 20 January 2023

Human Rights Day commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Publishes 2 December 2022

The Human Rights Resolution Portal provides information on, and access to, all resolutions ever passed by the Human Rights Council, and all resolutions adopted by the General Assembly's Third Committee since 2006.
Universal Rights Group, Geneva

Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises (A/HRC/47/39/Add.2 - 22 June 2021)

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan (13 April 2021)

An OHCHR database containing all recommendations issued by the human rights mechanisms, searchable by SDGs

Making the link between human rights and development
By the Danish Institute for Human Rights

By the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue

CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.