Summary: The seventh session of the Human Rights Council will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 03 - 28 March 2008.
This page will offer information on the fifth HRC session for child rights NGOs. It provides daily news updates, links to official documentation, information on NGO participation and useful contacts.
Read CRIN's daily briefings from the Human Rights Council: Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Menu: CRINMAILs - Documentation - NGO participation - Special Procedures - Sources of information - Subgroup on the HRC - Universal Periodic Review - Useful contacts
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 41
Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 40
Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 39
Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 38
Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 37
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NGO written statements
-
Statements relevant to child rights will be listed here once they are made publicly available
Special Procedures (see below)
-
A compilation of mentions of child rights in the reports of the UN Special Procedures will be available here when the reports are made public
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Guidelines for submitting written statements
As under the arrangements and practices observed by the Commission on Human Rights, NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC will be able to submit written statements relevant to the work of the Human Rights Council (in accordance with paragraphs 36 and 37 of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31).
NGOs may submit their written statements to the Council Secretariat electronically to [email protected]. The deadline for the submission of written statements is Wednesday 20 February. The Secretariat will not be able to ensure the timely circulation of written statements late in submission.
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
Accreditation:
NGOs in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) wishing to accredit representatives to the seventh session of the Human Rights Council are invited to send their request to the secretariat of the Human Rights Council (by fax) for the attention of Mr. Michael Armstrong:
Until 29 February 2008
Fax: +41 22 917 90 11
Telephone: +41 22 917 92 69
From 3 to 28 March 2008
Fax: +41 22 917 04 94
Telephone: +41 22 917 15 25/92 69
The letter requesting accreditation should contain the following elements:
-
It should be submitted on the official letterhead of the organisation;
-
It should clearly state the title and duration of the session the organisation wishes to attend, e.g. “Name of NGO, in consultative status with ECOSOC, wishes to send the following members to attend the 7th session of the HRC..."
-
The letter needs to be signed by the President or the Main Representative of the organisation in Geneva;
-
It should also indicate the name/s (first name and family name) of the person/s who will represent the organization at the HRC session:
o Names of persons must appear exactly as they appear in the ID document,
o Family Name(s) have to be capitalised.
It is important to ensure that the name(s) of those members already in possession of a valid identity badge issued by the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) Security and Safety Section, and who plan to attend the seventh session of the Human Rights Council, is/are also included in the accreditation letter, with an indication that the person(s) holds an annual badge:
(a) Annual or temporary representatives of NGOs in possession of an identity badge issued by the UNOG Security and Safety Section and valid for the duration of the session will have unrestricted access to the conference rooms.
(b) Participants without a UNOG identification badge should apply in person at the “Pregny Gate” security entrance, 8-14 avenue de La Paix. Upon presentation of identification and a copy of the letter of accreditation, a photo-badge valid for the duration of the Human Rights Council session will be issued.
The accreditation office of the Human Rights Council will be located at the “Pregny Gate” security entrance and will be open from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 17:00 for the duration of the session.
List of participants
The secretariat wishes has announced that the so-called “orange registration forms” previously distributed by Conference Services during the session, will no longer be in use. Therefore, in order to register names for the list of attendance, participants are kindly asked to announce themselves to the secretariat, through a letter of accreditation addressed to Mr. Michael Armstrong, telephone: +41 22 917 92 69, fax: +41 22 917 90 11/917 04 94.
For more information, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/7session/accreditation.htm
NGO parallel events:
Participants in the seventh session of the Human Rights Council wishing to reserve a room for meetings and parallel events to be held in the margins of the sessions should fill in the relevant room request form and submit it by fax to the Human Rights Council Secretariat.
Prior to the commencement of the sessions, requests may be faxed to:
+41 22 917 90 11 to the attention of Ms. Françoise Kenfack (tel. +41 22 917 96 41).
Contact information (phone and fax) of Ms. Françoise Kenfack for the duration of the session from 03 March to 28 March will follow.
Please be advised that Delegations wishing to book rooms for Intergovernmental Consultations should use the “Intergovernmental Room Booking Request Form”.
Special Procedure mandate-holders, Specialised Agencies, NGOs and NHRIs should use the "General Room Booking Request Form", at the same link above.
With regard to parallel events organised by NGOs, organisations wishing to co-sponsor an NGO parallel event should fill in this “NGO_Co-sponsorship of Parallel Events Form” (above link) and fax at least 24 hours prior to the event to the attention of Ms. Françoise Kenfack.
Access to relevant information on the Web
Relevant and updated information on the 6th session of the HRC will be regularly posted on the HRC Extranet. The extranet page may be accessed here
Username: hrc extranet
Password: 1session
Finally, a live Webcast service will be available under the Council’s webpage, covering the plenary session online.
NGO Liaison Office:
During the upcoming seventh session of the Human Rights Council and the lead-up to it, OHCHR's NGO Liaison Officer, Ms. Laura Dolci-Kanaan, will be in charge of facilitating the participation of NGO representatives in the work of the Council. Kindly note the following contact details;
-
Ms. Laura Dolci-Kanaan, e-mail: [email protected], Tel: +41 (0)22 917 9656 (until 29 February)
-
Ms. Noemie Crottaz (intern), e-mail: [email protected], Tel: +41 (0)22 917 9754 (until 29 February)
Contact information, as well as the NGO liaison office location for the duration of the session from 3 to 28 March 2008 will be communicated at a later stage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
At the session, 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 here)
For more information about the Special Procedures, and the (now expired) nomination process, visit here
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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 5th 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
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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’s aim so far has been to ensure that the Commission on Human Rights 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 Commission's Resolutions, the NGO community has ensured better support and coherence between international politics and local realities affecting the realisation of children's rights.
The Subgroup has been active during the negotiations on the creation of the Human Rights Council and during consultations on the first session of the Council.
It produced a call for action in May 2006, calling on the Human Rights Council to act on four specific child rights issues: violence against children - sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography - children affected by armed conflict and displacement - children in conflict with the law. The Call for Action was updated last November.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal Periodic Review (what is this?)
The first session of the Working Group on UPR is scheduled to be held from 7 to 18 April 2008 in Geneva, at Palais des Nations. A special webpage is being launched on the OHCHR website (internet) in the week of the 25 of February 2008.
All available documentation, in the advance unedited version, will be posted on that webpage, including the OHCHR summaries of stakeholders' inputs, as well as thebackground information submitted by stakeholders.
Meanwhile, for a timetable for the first session of the UPR Working Group, see here
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on the Human Rights Council, contact:
The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, OHCHR – UNOG,
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 22 917 9000; Fax: +41 22 917 9016
Website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr
For more information on NGO participation, contact:
Ms Laura Dolci-Kanaan
OHCHR’s NGO Liaison Officer
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +41 22 917 9656
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
or Jennifer Grant, co-Convenor
Save the Children UK
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 6866; Fax: + 44 (0)20 7012 6963
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crin.org/HRC