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Summary: In addition to information about Special Procedures and the mandates that exist, this page includes details of upcoming visits, child rights extract reports and analysis of individual Special Procedures.
Menu: - What are UN Special Procedures? Special Procedures are currently appointed on an ad hoc basis by a Human Rights Council resolution, when the need arises. They will be appointed by the Chairperson of the Human Rights Council after consultation with the five regional groups, which consist of Member States of the Council.Mandate-holders are appointed to specific posts (read more on the appointments). The Mandate-Holders (often referred to as Special Rapporteurs or Independent Experts) conduct field visits as part of their fact-finding missions. They then produce a report and present their findings to the Human Rights Council at one of the regular sessions. In 2014, 23 special procedure mandates will be up for grabs, presenting the children’s rights community with an opportunity to nominate - and lobby their governments to vote for - candidates with a background and interest in children’s rights. Children are human beings too, which means that they have the same human rights as adults. But so often UN human rights discussions (apart from those specifically dedicated to children, like the Committee on the Rights of the Child or the HRC’s annual day) ignore children’s rights issues or merely pay them lip service. So it is really important that the people in the top jobs in human rights, including those holding UN special procedure mandates, understand and care about children’s rights. As part of our efforts to position children’s rights on the broader human rights agenda, CRIN monitors the appointment processes (the election of treaty body Committee members and Special Procedure mandate-holders being two good examples). For instance, you can see how we monitored the candidates for the Working Group on business and human rights, here. Below are some of the key vacancies concerning children’s rights coming up in 2014: What you can do! Anyone can nominate candidates to fill the vacant posts. Further information concerning the deadline and the application process is set to be announced by OHCHR in September, and we will include details in our UN CRINmail that month. In the meantime, to find out more about how the appointment process works, visit OHCHR’s website. You can also contact us at [email protected]. Analysis of the work of Special Procedures CRIN has begun to analyse the work of individual Special Procedures, to further understand which issues are being raised and which are being neglected (focusing on children's rights). By understanding which particular children's rights issues are being neglected in the work of Special Rapporteurs on given issues, NGOs will be in a position to approach these experts to push for their inclusion. Read CRIN's first report below: CRIN will be conducting further analysis on the above report and other reports in due course, including: CRIN has extracted references to children's rights from the country and thematic focused reports by Special Procedure mandate-holders. Click on the individual reports below to access these references. Reports to be presented at the Human Rights Council's 24th session (9 - 27 September) Selected reports relating to children's rights include: - View the full set of reports Reports to be presented at the Human Rights Council's 23rd session (27 May - 14 June) Below is a selection of reports that are likely to feature children's rights: For the full set of reports, click here. Reports to be presented at the 22nd Session (25 February - 22 March 2013) Below is a selection of reports that are likely to feature children's rights: Thematic reports: Country-focused reports: Updated report on the work of the Commission of Inquiry on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic - For the full list of reports, click here. For the full list of reports, click here. To view the full list of reports, click here. ----------------------------------------- Reports to be presented at the 19th HRC Session (27 Feb - 23 March 2012) *Reports not yet available. ----------------------------------------- The original reports can be found, here. ----------------------------------------- Reports to be presented at the 17th Session (May 30 - June 17 2011) The full list of reports has been published on the OHCHR website, click here. CRIN will be compiling children's rights extracts reports from key reports. Coming soon! In the meantime, look at the following reports where children are likely to feature: ----------------------------------------- Reports to be presented at the 16th Session (28 February - 25 March 2011) * Report not yet available To access all the original reports due to be presented at the 16th Session, click here. ----------------------------------------- Reports presented at the 15th Session (13th September - 1st October 2010) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 15th Session ----------------------------------------- Reports from the 14th Session (31st May - 18th June 2010) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 14th Session ----------------------------------------- Reports from the 13th Session (1st - 26th March 2010) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 13th Session ----------------------------------------- Reports from the 12th Session (14th September - 2nd October 2009) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 12th Session ----------------------------------------- Reports from the 11th Session (2nd - 19th June 2009) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 11th Session ----------------------------------------- Reports from the 10th Session (2nd - 27th March 2009) Click here to access all the original Special Procedure reports presented at the 10th Session After many months of discussions and negotiations, the Council adopted a text on the review of the work and functioning of the Human Rights Council. The text is limited in terms of the number of changes that have taken place:
- A guide to Special Procedure mandate-holders
Country / Thematic Mandate-Holders
How to engage with Special Procedures
:Country mandates / thematic mandates
:Follow guidelines, here.
Children's rights references in Special Procedure reports
in the application of traditional values while promoting and protecting human rights and upholding human dignity
- Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Report of the Secretary-General (report yet to be released)
(report yet to be released)
- Thematic report on challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery (report to be released).
(report yet to be released)
- Study of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (report to be released)
- Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
highest attainable standard of health
(only available at the moment in Spanish)
or punishment
of justice - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
against individuals and groups who cooperate or have cooperated with the United Nations, its
representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights
- Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Reports to be presented at the 21st HRC Session (10 - 28 September 2012)
Reports to be presented at the 20th HRC Session (18 June - 6 July 2012)
(focuses on youth and student defenders)
(focuses on protecting children after humanitarian crisis)
Reports to be presented at the 18th Session (Sept 12 - 30 2011)
Special Procedures in the Human Rights Council Review