HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Session 16

Summary: Full details of the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council, including information on the Day on the Rights of the Child, key Special Procedure reports featuring children's rights, side events and statements, and information on NGO participation.

Please note: The formatting of this page is currently under construction due to technical difficulties. We apologise in the meantime.

You can read our three CRINMAILs covering the 16th Session:
 

 

The 16th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) is taking place from 28th February to 25th March 2011 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

 

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Daily Coverage of the 16th session

Welcome to CRIN's live coverage of the 16th session, currently taking place in Geneva. We have documented children's rights in the various formal and informal discussions taking place.

At the end of each week of the session, we will be releasing a special HRC CRINMAIL documenting the events of the week.

- Read our first HRC 16th session CRINMAIL
- Subscribe to our CRINMAILs (free)

 

  • 17 March - Consideration of UPR reports

Today, six more States will have their UPR reports considered by the Council, including the United States.

This morning: Bulgaria, Honduras and the United States of America are being considered.
This afternoon: Marshall Islands, Croatia and Jamaica will be considered.

- You can watch the sessions live on the OHCHR webcast
- Read CRIN's children's rights extract reports for the above States
- Visit CRIN's main UPR page with information on the UPR

  • 16 March - Consideration of UPR reports

Six States yesterday had their Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports adopted by the Council:

-Liberia, Malawi and Mongolia had their reports adopted in the morning. Read more.
-Panama, Maldives, Andorra had their reports adopted in the afternoon. Read more.

- You can watch the sessions live on the OHCHR webcast
- Read CRIN's children's rights extract reports for the above States
- Visit CRIN's main UPR page with information on the UPR

  • 15 March  - Independent Expert on minority issues

On Tuesday, the Independent Expert on minority issues, Ms Gay McDougall, presented her report to the Council. She reported on her two official missions to Vietnam and Colombia. Referring to Vietnam, she said: "Access to quality and appropriate education was a fundamental gateway to development and poverty eradication for minorities in the country" Other references to children were made in her report and presentation.

- Read the references to children in the report

States and NGOs made oral statements during the session, in response to the Independent Expert's report.

- Read an overview of the dialogue

  • 15 March - General Debate under Item 5

During the general debate on Tuesday on matters that require the Council's attention, a number of speakers took to the floor.

- Read an overview of the discussions

Baha'i International Community (NGO) spoke about the worrying situation for Baha'i children in Iran, saying that these children were vilified in the classroom and could be expelled if they corrected misinformation.

  • 14 March - Special Rapporteur on Myanmar

On Monday, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar presented his report to the Council. Several references to children were made in his report.

- Read the Rapporteur's full report
- Read CRIN's extracts of children's rights from the report
- Read about the discussions

During the session, the government of Myanmar responded to issues raised by the Special Rapporteur in his report. Addressing comments on the state of education in the report, the head of the delegation said: "The use of ethnic languages in schools and workplace is freely allowed". He further stated: "The government's efforts to provide equitable education throughout the country should not be ignored".

- Read the full oral statement made by Myanmar

  • 11 March - General Debate under Item 3

 

A general debate took place on 11 March on the promotion and protection of all human rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.

-  Read about the debate.

The following NGO statements focused on children:

- A statement on the proposed communications procedure for the CRC on behalf of 16 NGOs representing over a hundred national and international NGOs. The statement expressed concern that the rush to agree a draft on the communications procedure has led to inconsistencies and contradictions in the current proposal. NGOs urged the Council to act to ensure that the draft text is corrected to provide an effective communications procedure for children.  Read the joint NGO statement.

- Organisations for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) made an oral statement on trafficking in children. They said the lack of good coordination by international organisations and countries involved in this problem, is what is causing the wasting of resources and failure to tackle the issue of trafficking effectively. Read the full statement.

- World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) also made an oral statement during the general debate. They focused on the human rights violations in the Non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, including the systematic oppression of children in schools. The organisation described how children are watched by police in classrooms and harrassed in the street. Read the full statement.

 

  • 10 March - Panel on human rights defenders and freedom of religion or belief

 

- Heiner Bielefeldt, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, said that school education should provide fair and unbiased definitions of religious beliefs and face to face daily exchange between people from different background.- Margaret Sekaggya, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, focused on the situation of women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues

- Read about the discussions

 

  • 9 March - Day on the Rights of the Child concludes in Geneva

 

On Wednesday, State delegates, NGOs, UN agencies and individual experts participated in a full day of discussions on the situation of children working and / or living on the street.

 

The aim of the discussion was to raise awareness about the issue; reaffirm existing human rights standards and commitments; highlight good practices and lessons learnt in addressing their situation; identify key challenges; and recommend future action.

 

A number of key themes emerged from the discussions, including the need to listen to the views of children themselves, the urgent requirement of quality data and research, and the importance of States actually implementing their committments.

CRIN followed the discussions in Geneva and has produced a comprehensive report of the day.

- Read CRIN's full report on the day
- Read a summary of the report in this week's CRINMAIL

 

  • 8 March - Interactive Dialogue on violence / sale of children

 

On 8 March, a clustered interactive dialogue took place with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. 

Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, highlighted several key areas in her closing remarks. She stressed the importance of political committment by Member States and regional organizations to identify and monitor progress on violence against children. The challenge now, she said, was to make policies known to the wider population.

-Read the press release for the session
-Read the joint report of the SR on the sale of children, child prostitution and child  pornography  and the SRSG on violence against children
-Read the oral statement by NGOs on juvenile justice

 

  • 8 March - High Commissioner makes statement on on Women's Day

 

 

In her statement, the High Commissioner underlined the importance of education, stressing it needed to be more inclusive and accessible to girls and boys, both in law and in practice. She said education needed to be flexible and tailored to the needs of female students, particularly in changing societies where girls and women were breaking gender stereotypes and were pressing forward to take full part in public, professional and public life.

-Read the High Commissioner's statement

 

  • 3 March - High Commissioner presents her annual report

 

The High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, presented OHCHR's annual report on 3 March. The annual report covers efforts by the United Nations Human Rights office (OHCHR) to safeguard human rights, particularly in the OHCHR 2010-2011 priority areas such as non-discrimination, protecting migrants’ rights, promoting rights-based development and combating impunity. An interactive discussion then took place, discussing the report.

During the session, the High Commissioner praised the Council's swift action in calling a Special Session on Libya. She also strongly reiterated her concern at the prevalence of violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals, including targeted killings, criminal sanctions, rape and torture.

- Read the report by the High Commissioner
- Read ISHR's coverage of the dialogue with the Council
 

 

  • 28 feb / 1st, 2nd March - High Level Segments

 

The first three days of the 16th Session were devoted to statements made by senior representatives from the Human Rights Council member countries, with the situation in Libya dominating discussions.

- Read the transcripts of the speakers (username: hrc extranet, password: 1session)
- Watch the 16th Session live
- Read about the meetings (BBC)

 

 

HRC 16th Session Agenda

The agenda for the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council is now available.

View the Agenda, here

 


Day on the Rights of the Child (Wednesday 9th March 2011)

The schedule for the Annual day (focusing on children living and / or working on the street) has been announced.

There will be two panels:

Panel One

 

- The root causes and factors leading children to live and/or work on the street. This morning session will take place from 10:00am to 1pm.

Panelists include:

  • Najat Maalla M'jid, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
  • Father Patrick Shanahan, President and Founding Member, Street Invest
  • Youth representatives:

    -Sévérine and Wilfried from the African Movement of Working Children and Youth (Benin and Cameroun)
    -Mohammad and Tania, youth representatives from Plan supported Programmes (Bangladesh)

  • Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Commissioner and Rapporteur on Children, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Panel Two

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- The conditions of children living and/or working on the street: prevention strategies and responses. This afternoon session will take place from 3pm to 6pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panelists include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children.

  • Abdul Khalique Shaikh, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sindh, Pakistan

  • Marco Antonio Da Silva Souza, Director, Proyecto Meninos e meninas da rua Brazil

  • Susan Bissell, Chief, Child Protection Unit, UNICEF

  • International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), International Labour Organization (TBC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For full details of the Day, read the concept note

NGO Statements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NGOs are actively involved in the Day on the Rights of the Child. You can read their statements below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day on the Rights of the Child - 2010

For a better understanding of how the day works, read about last year's Day on the Rights of teh Child (focusing on violence).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several side events will take place during the course of the 16th Session.

Events related to the Day on the Rights of the Child:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events related to children's rights:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other side events:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Special Procedure Report Presentations

A number of reports will be presented by Special Procedure Mandate-Holders and Independent Experts during the course of the 16th Session. CRIN has highlighted below key reports that address children's rights.

Some reports are in full, however where the report is more general, children's rights references have been extracted from the reports. Click on the individual reports below:
You can click on the individual report below:

Further Information:

  • Click here to access all the reports due to be presented at the 16th Session of the HRC

  • Click here to view CRIN's main Special Procedures page

UPR Report Adoptions

The final outcome reports will be adopted during the Council's Session for the sixteen countries reviewed in the 9th Session of the UPR, which took place from November 1st to 12th last year.

These outcome reports will include the list of recommendations issued by fellow UN Member States to the State under Review, together with the State's responses to each recommendation.

The countries due to have reports adopted are listed below. CRIN has extracted children's rights references from the pre-review reports for each of the countries below and will update these reports with extracts from the final outcome report as soon as they become available.

Liberia    Libya    Malawi    Mauritania   Lebanon   Maldives 

Marshal Islands    Mongolia   Honduras    Jamaica    Panama

United States of America     Andorra    Bulgaria    Croatia

CRINMAILs
 

Read more about the 16th Session and other news from the Council in the above CRINMAIL.

Read about the last HRC Session (15th regular session) in the above CRINMAIL.
 

 

NGO participation

Information note for NGOs - including information on accreditation and NGO parallel events

Written statements

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC may submit written statements relevant to the work of the Human Rights Council.

The HRC Secretariat wishes to draw the attention of NGOs to ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, which authorises written statements of: a) 2,000 words for NGOs in general consultative status; and b) 1,500 words for NGOs in special consultative status and on the roster.

NGO written statements are to be submitted in accordance with the guidelines for the submission of NGO written statements:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/guidelines.htm

NGOs may submit their written statements to the Council Secretariat electronically to [email protected].

OHCHR NGO Liaison Office:

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Telephone: + 41 (0)22 917 9656
Email: [email protected]

Contact information, as well as the NGO liaison office location accessible
during the session will be communicated at a later stage.

Sources of Information
 

CRIN - sign up to the special HRC CRINMAIL.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Press releases are issued by the HRC on a daily basis during HRC sessions and are available on the OHCHR website. In addition, relevant documents are posted on the Human Rights Council extranet (sign up).

Relevant and updated information on the 14th session of the HRC will be regularly posted on the HRC Extranet. Username: hrc extranet - Password: 1session.

A live Webcast service will be available under the Council’s webpage, covering the plenary session online, and will be accessible through this link.

Civil society news and perspectives are available on the CONGO website (Conference of NGOs in consultative relationship with the UN) and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) - ISHR: Human Rights Council daily updates

UN - FAQs about the Human Rights Council
 


Working Group for the HRC

The Working group 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 WG’s aim so far has been to ensure that the Human Rights Council addresses the specific rights and situations of children worldwide in its regular work and sessions on human rights. By advocating for the inclusion of its concerns into the Council's Resolutions, the NGO community has ensured better support and coherence between international politics and local realities affecting the realisation of children's rights.

For more information, contact the co-convenors of the NGO WG:

Alan Kikuchi-White, Geneva Representative
SOS-Kinderdorf International
Email: [email protected]

Or Veronica Yates, CRIN
Email: [email protected]

Visit: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/NGOCRC/subgroup-CHR.asp

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
East Studio
2, Pontypool Place, London, SE1 8QF, United Kingdom
+44 20 7401 2257
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crin.org/HRC

 

pdf: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

Organisation: 
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Tags: 
Individual cases of violations
Reporting to and monitoring the CRC
Link : 
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

Countries

    Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.