Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 35

18 January 2008 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 35

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Human Rights Council: Session 7 [event]

Universal Periodic Review: Deadline for submissions extended [news]

Special Procedures: Urgent call to nominate candidates as human rights experts [call for nominations]

Nomination Form for Special Procedures [publication]

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Human Rights Council: Session 7 [event]

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Date: 3 to 28 March 2008

The seventh session of the Human Rights Council will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva in March 2008. The agenda and programme of work has not yet been confirmed, however this session is most likely to be dealing with child rights, more specifically:  

  • Adoption of a resolution on the rights of the child. As was previously the case with the Commission on Human Rights, the resolution on the rights of the child will once again be co-sponsored by GRULAC (Latin America and Caribbean States) and the European Union (EU).
  • The term of Juan Miguel Petit as Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography will be over in March. The mandate will be assessed and should be renewed in a separate resolution.
  • Side events will most likely be organised by NGOs and others during the session. Further information will be posted on the CRIN website as and when details are made available.


Useful contacts

For more information on NGO participation, contact:
Ms Laura Dolci-Kanaan
OHCHR’s NGO Liaison Officer
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +41 22 917 9656
Website: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

For more information about the Subgroup for the Human Rights Council, contact:
Cecile Trochu, co-Convenor
OMCT
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/NGOCRC/subgroup-CHR.asp

Any other enquiries:
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
c/o Save the Children, 1 St. John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7012 6867; Fax: + 44 (0)20 7012 6963
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crin.org/HRC

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Universal Periodic Review: Deadline for submissions extended [news]

[8 January 2008] - Following the joint NGO letter requesting an extension of the deadline for NGO written submission on the 16 countries to be reviewed during the 2nd session of the Universal Periodic Review, the following extensions to the original deadline have been accepted:

For the first six countries to be reviewed during the second session of the UPR WG (Gabon, Ghana, Peru, Guatemala, Benin, Republic of Korea), the deadline is extended to Friday 25 January 2008.

For the other ten countries to be reviewed during the second session of the UPR WG (Switzerland, Pakistan, Zambia, Japan, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, France, Tonga, Romania, Mali), the deadline is extended to Friday 8 February 2008.

Further information

For more information, contact:
CONGO - Conference Of Non-Governmental Organizations
Geneva Address: Case postale-50, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 1881
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.conferenceofngos.org

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Special Procedures: Urgent call to nominate candidates as human rights experts [call for nominations]

In March 2008 the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council is expected to appoint up to 16 human rights experts to serve as Special Procedure mandate-holders. The Special Procedures in question deal with issues such as the right to adequate housing, the right to food, human rights defenders, indigenous people, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, contemporary forms of slavery, extreme poverty and the human rights situations in Myanmar and Somalia. (The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child prostitution and Child Pornography will also expire - see below)

The appointment of independent, impartial, competent and expert men and women from all regions of the world to the Special Procedures mandates is crucial to a well-functioning system of Special Procedures and to the ability of the Human Rights Council to protect and promote human rights.

The basis of the new appointment process is a public roster of eligible candidates, maintained by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR.) A Consultative Group has begun to review the candidates on the roster. By 2 February 2008, it is expected to make recommendations on suitable candidates for 16 mandates. Based on these recommendations and broad consultations, the President of the Council will then proceed with the appointments, with final approval by the Human Rights Council expected during the 7th regular session in March 2008. Additional appointments – to other Special Procedures mandates - will be made at the 8th and 9th regular sessions of the Human Rights Council in June and September 2008.

Although the establishment of the Special Procedures roster has the potential to expand the pool of persons qualified to hold Special Procedures’ mandates, as of 10 January only 51 candidates were included in the public roster. Of these, only 15 are women.

For the most competent candidates to be appointed it is crucial that the Special Procedures roster, which will constitute the primary pool of eligible candidates, is extensive and broadly representative with many potential candidates from all regions and both sexes.

Amnesty International, therefore, renews its call on Governments, NGOs and relevant professional associations to send names of eligible candidates to the OHCHR for inclusion in the roster. Particular urgent attention should be dedicated to nominating candidates for the 16 vacancies that require appointment in March.

Suggestions for the Special Procedures roster should be based on the technical and objective requirements for eligible candidates for mandate holders, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2007 (Decision 6/102). Amnesty International has developed a checklist for each requirement. Account should also be taken of the exclusion from appointment to a given mandate of individuals holding decision-making positions in Government or in any other organisation or entity which may give rise to a conflict of interest inherent to the mandate.

Amnesty International reminds Governments, NGOs and relevant professional associations of the importance of nominating “more women candidates for election and appointment to the human rights treaty bodies and mechanisms” as affirmed by Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/30 on integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system, adopted without a vote on 14 December 2007.

Further information


Contact details:

Amnesty International - International Secretariat
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK.
Tel: +44 20 7413 5500
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.amnesty.org

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=16194 

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Nomination Form for Special Procedures [publication]

In light of the upcoming review of Special Procedures mandates and the request of the Human Rights Council for nominations, the Council has established guidelines to identify Special Procedures mandate holders. NGOs are invited to submit candidates that meet the criteria and requirements.

There are at least two specific needs that we as child rights NGOs should address:


Who can nominate candidates?

The following may nominate candidates as special procedures mandate-holders:

  • Governments
  • Regional groups operating within the UN human rights system
  • International organisations or their offices (e.g. OHCHR)
  • Non governmental organisations
  • Other human rights bodies
  • Individuals 

Those submitting candidates are invited to complete the attached form to facilitate the work of the Secretariat. 

Submitting entities may wish to take into consideration the terms in office of mandate holders and the time required for the consideration of candidates on the public list by the Consultative Group (as provided for under Human Rights Council decision 5/1).

How to nominate a candidate?

1. By email: [email protected]  

2. By post: HRC Secretariat, c/o Orest Nowosad
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Room 4-093, Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)22 917 9223; Fax: +41 (0)22 917 9011).

Further information

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=15316 

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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group Subgroup for the Human Rights Council. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.

Further information about child rights at the Human Rights Council is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/hrc. To submit information, contact us on [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.

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