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Summary: The 22nd session of the Human Rights Council closed on Friday with 35 resolutions adopted on a wide range of issues, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on North Korea and the appointment of an Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali. Later this week, you can read our "March at the UN" CRINMAIL, rounding up the last four weeks. If you are not already subscribed, you can do so here. In the meantime, read the closing press release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. You can also visit our 22nd session page for our daily coverage. UN closing press release The Human Rights Council concluded its twenty-second regular session this afternoon after adopting two decisions, two Presidential statements, and 35 resolutions on a wide range of issues. In its resolutions, among others, the Council established a Commission of Inquiry on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and decided to appoint an Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali. The Council also renewed the mandates of a number of Special Procedures, including the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs on countering terrorism, on the right to food, on freedom of religion or belief, and on the situations of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in Myanmar, in Iran and in Syria; and of the Independent Expert on Haiti. The Council also adopted the final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 countries and appointed two new members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Concerning human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention, the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights, as outlined in paragraph 21 of the Special Rapporteur’s recent report, with a view to ensuring full accountability. The Council also extended the mandate of the independent international Commission of Inquiry on Syria and requested the Commission to continue its work and to present written reports on the situation of human rights in the Syria at interactive dialogues during the twenty-third and twenty-fourth sessions of the Council. The Council extended for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, and invited him to include in his next report recommendations with regard to technical assistance and capacity-building. The Council also extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for a period of one year, and requested the Special Rapporteur to submit reports on the implementation of his mandate to the Council at its twenty-fifth session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-eight session. The Council also decided to extend the mandate of the Independent Expert on Haiti and encouraged the Independent Expert to work with international institutions, donors and the international community in order to lend their expertise and resources to the efforts of Haitian authorities in the country's reconstruction. In relation to other Special Procedure mandate holders, during its twentieth-second session, the Council decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, for a period of three years, and requested the Special Rapporteur to continue to monitor the evolution of the world food crisis and to keep the Council informed of the impact of the crisis on the enjoyment of the right to food. The Council expressed deep concern at emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief for a further period of three years. The Council decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism for a period of three years. The Council decided to extend the mandate of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies for a further two year period and decided that the Working Group shall present its recommendations to the Council at its thirtieth-session; and decides that the members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination shall participate as resource persons. The Council also decided to extend the mandate of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action for a period of three years. Concerning assistance to Mali in the field of human rights, the Council decided to establish a one-year mandate for an Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali with a view to assisting the Government of Mali in its efforts to promote and protect human rights. Regarding the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the Council also called upon the Government to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The Council requested the Joint Inspection Unit to undertake a comprehensive follow-up review of the management and administration of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and to submit a report to the Council at its twenty-seventh session. The Council also requested the High Commissioner to submit a comprehensive and updated report to the Council at its twenty-seventh session. Other texts dealt with the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights; the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; the realization of economic, social and cultural rights; the situation of human rights defenders; and birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition as a person before the law. The Council also adopted texts on peaceful protests; human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed; negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin on the enjoyment of human rights; on a high-level panel discussion on “the question of the death penalty”; on the contribution of Parliaments to the work of the Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review; on human rights in post-disaster/post-conflict situations; human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan; and on technical assistance to Libya. The Council also adopted texts regarding the rehabilitation of torture victims; the prevention of genocide; the follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health; on the human rights situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories; on the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; on combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief; and on education as a tool to prevent racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The Council adopted a decision on the Council’s webcast, recommending the General Assembly to consider ways to ensure sustainable live webcasting and subsequent storage of Council meetings held in the framework of the sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review Working Group. The President of the Council appointed two new members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Mr. Albert Deterville from Saint Lucia for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States and Mr. Alexey Tsykarev from the Russian Federation, for the Eastern European Group. In concluding remarks, Remigiuscz A. Henczel, President of the Human Rights Council, said that he continued to encourage all those who participated in the Council’s work to discuss all issues with appropriate levels of dignity and respect. Tolerance and respect for others’ views had to remain the principles for future discussions. As stressed on a number of occasions, any acts of intimation or reprisals against individuals and groups that did or had cooperated with the United Nations were unacceptable and had to end. Documentation, statements, resolutions and reports relating to this and all Human Rights Council sessions are available on its webpage. Detailed, speaker-by-speaker coverage of every public meeting can be found on the website of United Nations Information Service Geneva. The twenty-second session was held from 25 February to 22 March 2013. The twenty-third regular session of the Human Rights Council will be held from 27 May to 14 June 2013.