10 September 2007 - Child Rights at the 6th Session of the Human Rights Council 32
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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Session 6 [event]
SPECIAL PROCEDURES: Child Rights in reports submitted for the 6th Session [publication]
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Children Have Rights Too!
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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Session 6 [event]
The sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council opened today in Geneva. This session will be held in two parts: the first part will close on 28 September but will be resumed in a second part from 10 – 14 December.
One of the Council’s main tasks for this session will be to decide once and for all on institution building issues. In particular it will decide the first group of countries to be subject to the Council’s scrutiny under the newly established Universal Periodic Review mechanism (UPR).
The UPR aims to ensure that the Council examines the human rights records of all UN Member States equally. The new mechanism came out of the Council’s reform process in response to complaints that the same countries are always singled out for criticism whilst others with similar human rights records for political reasons escape comment. The review is due to begin in February 2008, although some Council Members argue that States need more time to prepare.
Information about the UPR and how child rights NGOs can contribute will be posted on the CRIN website as it becomes available on CRIN's news page on the Human Rights Council
The process of reform and institution building has been ongoing since June 2006 when the Council replaced the UN Commission on Human Rights. Read more here.
For information on child rights and the 6th session, go here.
Issues
On 13 September, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, will present her annual report to the Council. Other reports by the High Commissioner will be discussed under the relevant thematic item. See mentions of child rights in these reports here
An important part of the Council’s review work during this session will be to begin its assessment of the mandates of its Special Procedures. Special Procedures are experts appointed to monitor particular country or thematic human rights issues of concern. As part of a broader reform process outlined in Resolution 60/251, which created the Council, the General Assembly decided that the Council should review and, where necessary, improve and rationalise the mandates of the Special Procedures.
The Special Procedures scheduled for review during this session are: the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan and the Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti.
The Council is expected to make a number of other decisions to finalise the process of institution building. These include the requirements for selection of candidates to the HRC Advisory Committee. The Committee has replaced the former Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights – the think tank which supports the Council’s work by providing expertise and advice by carrying out research and studies on particular issues.
The modalities of the newly created complaint procedure - the channel by which victims can bring particular human rights violations to the Council’s attention - will also be discussed. This replaces the former ‘1503 procedure’. Reforms to the complaints procedure include more options on the steps that may be taken by the Council following the complaint and measures to make it more victim-centred.
For more details of events and meetings, check the 'Orders of the day' on the HRC website or see the programme of work.
During the session, the Council will hear the Special Procedures of the Council present their reports. Country mandates will present reports on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan.
Reports to be presented on thematic issues include: freedom of religion or belief, contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, human rights and international solidarity, and trafficking in persons, especially in women and children.
Reports submitted to the HRC by Special Procedures are available on the OHCHR website.
CRIN has compiled a report of mentions of children's rights in the reports of the Special Procedures to be examined during the sixth session here.
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NGO Statements and written submissions on child rights:
Written statement submitted for the sixth session of the Human Rights Council on children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka (International Educational Development)
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Child rights and the Human Rights Council
The Subgroup for the Human Rights Council of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, brings together NGOs willing to promote the rights of the child at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The subgroup has issued a number of statements to the Council, both oral and written, including:
Further information:
Human Rights Council getting ready for September session (ReformtheUN)
For other information on the HRC, see the website of International Service for Human Rights
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Coming up…
The provisional annual agenda of the Council as agreed on 18 June 2007 is as follows:
10-14 December 2007: Sixth session will be resumed to review the mandates of the Special Procedures.
1 – 5 February 2008: First session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
3 – 28 March 2008: Seventh session
5 – 16 May 2008: Second session of the Working Group on the UPR
2 – 13 June 2008: Eighth session
August 2008: First meeting of the HRC Advisory Committee (which replaces the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights)
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SPECIAL PROCEDURES: Child Rights in the Reports submitted for the 6th Session [publication]
This report is a compilation of mentions of children's rights in the reports of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council that will be presented at the 6th session of the HRC which takes place from 10 – 28 September 2007. Download the report here.
The reports which will be presented at the 6th session of the Human Rights Council are:
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (Asma Jahangir);
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on the manifestation of defamation of religions and in particular on the serious implications of Islamophobia on the enjoyment of all rights (Mr. Doudou Diène);
- Report of the Working Group on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
- Report of the independent expert appointed by the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mr. Titinga Frédéric Pacéré)
- Report of the independent expert on human rights and international solidarity (Mr. Rudi Muhammad Rizki)
- Updated report on the situation of human rights in Darfur prepared by the United Nations Experts Group on Darfur. This will be available shortly.
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children (Ms. Sigma Huda)
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14829
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Human Rights Council. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the 6th Session is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr. To submit information, contact [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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