As the UN’s main human rights body, the Human Rights Council (HRC) is a key advocacy target when it comes to children’s rights at the UN. Here are some ideas for how children’s rights advocates can use the HRC to promote and protect children’s rights. If you have any further ideas that would like to share with the children’s rights community, please email us.
Using the HRC to promote and protect children’s rights
You have three main options when deciding what is best for your children’s rights advocacy campaign.
Regular Sessions
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Cover and comment on what’s going on: You can attend annual meetings, including the plenary where thematic issues are discussed, States make statements or ask questions, special procedures present their annual reports, and States and NGOs organise side events. If you are able to attend it’s a great way to follow discussions, and lobby and meet new people to help with your advocacy work.
You must obtain prior accreditation to attend a session, and you can find out deadlines and the forms you need to fill in and submit on the HRC sessions page.
It can be very difficult for some advocates to make it to Geneva and attend a HRC session in person. We cover all HRC sessions through our CRIN library, and we also have a Child Rights at the UN CRINmail which you can subscribe to for free to keep you up to date on what’s going on at the UN (including the HRC) and upcoming events and deadlines.
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Make oral or written statements related to issues discussed: You must have ECOSOC status to do to this. Reporting deadlines are listed on each HRC sessions page.
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Organise side events on a topic relevant to a HRC session: Again, deadlines for applying for side events are listed on the HRC sessions page, and you must have ECOSCO status.
Engaging with special procedures
These are independent experts (or groups of experts) who investigate and report to the HRC on specific country or thematic mandates. Find out more on special procedures, including a list of all current mandates. Below is a quick summary of advocacy ideas:
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Report an urgent matter to a specific special procedure and encourage the mandate holder to investigate. Access the list of contact details for mandates.
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Find out when special procedures might be visiting your country and see if you can get a meeting with them as part of their visit.
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Special procedures sometimes put out a call for information, and NGOs can contribute to these consultations. See the full list of current open consultations.
Engaging with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
This is where the Council, the 47 elected Member States, examines the human rights situation in every Member State of the UN every four and half years. See background information on the Universal Periodic Review and advocacy ideas for the UPR.