Institution-Building of the United Nations Human Rights Council

A/HRC/RES/5/1No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 2007.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Communications Procedures Experts Human Rights Institutional Machinery Special Procedures Special Rapporteurs Special Representatives Subsidiary Bodies Working Groups

What does this mandate say?

35 operative paragraphs

Under the terms of its resolution 5/1, the Human Rights Council has adopted the text entitled “Institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council”, annexed to the resolution, including its appendices and decided to submit a draft resolution to the General Assembly for its adoption as a matter of priority in order to facilitate the timely implementation of the text contained thereafter.

Under the terms of the text entitled “Institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council”, the Council will establish a universal periodic review (UPR) mechanism, special procedures, a Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and a complaint procedure. According to that text, the operational structure and modalities of the human rights machinery will be established. Incremental resource requirements in respect of some of the proposals in the President’s text are being addressed in a separate report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on the implementation of the Human Rights Council decision 3/104, namely additional sessions of the Council (regular/organizational, etc.), special sessions and a high-level segment. Therefore, only incremental resources requirements over and above those submitted in connection with the decision 3/104 are included in this statement.

As regards the universal periodic review mechanism, the Council decides that:

The review will begin after the adoption of the UPR mechanism by the Council;

The periodicity of the review for the first cycle will be of four years, implying the consideration of 48 States per year during three sessions of the working group of two weeks each;

A compilation of the information contained in the reports of treaty bodies and special procedures, including observations and comments by the State concerned, and in other relevant official United Nations documents, will be prepared by OHCHR. This shall not exceed 10 pages;

In the review, the Council could also take into consideration additional credible and reliable information provided by other relevant stakeholders to the UPR. OHCHR will prepare a summary of such information that shall not exceed 10 pages;

Each member State will decide on the composition of its delegation [to the review] and a UPR Voluntary Trust Fund should be established to facilitate the participation of developing countries, particularly LDCs, in the UPR mechanism;

A group of three rapporteurs, selected by drawing of lots among the members of the Council and from different Regional Groups (the “troika”), will be formed to facilitate each review, including the preparation of the report of the working group. OHCHR will provide the necessary assistance and expertise to the rapporteurs;

Interactive dialogue between the country under review and the Council will take place in the working group. The rapporteurs may collate issues or questions to be transmitted to the State under review to facilitate its preparation and focus the interactive dialogue, while guaranteeing fairness and transparency.

In order to implement the above-mentioned proposals, it is estimated that the following additional resources will be required:

Seventeen (17) new posts for OHCHR at the P-4 level to ensure the preparation of the relevant documents to be submitted for the review of each country during the sessions of the UPR working group and for support to the rapporteurs in their review and preparation of the report of the country group as from 2007;

Conference services requirements for six weeks of meetings of the UPR working group starting from 2008;

Information services requirements to provide for press, radio, television and documentation coverage as well as webcasting.

Total estimated resource requirements will amount to:

Provisions have not been made in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009 for the above-mentioned activities, and as illustrated under paragraph 5 above. It does not appear that it will be possible to absorb the estimated additional requirements within the provisions for the 2008-2009 biennium. Therefore, an additional appropriation by the General Assembly will be required for the biennium 2008-2009. Although it is estimated that the 17 new P-4 posts will be required as from 2007, since it is expected that the General Assembly will only approve the requirements at its sixty-second session and recruitment will take several months, the workload will be met by use of temporary arrangements such as the use of vacant posts.

As regards special procedures, the Council decides that:

OHCHR shall immediately prepare, maintain and periodically update a public list of eligible candidates in a standardized format, which shall include personal data, areas of expertise and professional experience. Upcoming vacancies of mandates shall be publicized;

A consultative group will be established to propose to the President a list of candidates who possess the highest qualifications for each mandate and meets the general criteria and particular requirements. The Group will be assisted by OHCHR;

The Council will continue the review of mandates through an individual consideration of each mandate during its session of 2007/2008. With this purpose the Council will extend the mandates until they will be reviewed, in accordance with annex I [of the President’s text on institution-building].

In order to implement the proposals relating to the public list and the consultative group, one additional new post for OHCHR at the P-3 level is required. For the biennium 2006-2007 the workload will be met through temporary arrangements such as the use of a vacant post for the reason given in paragraph 6 above. As from biennium 2008-2009, it is proposed that a new post be established at the P-3 level to implement the terms of the President’s statement.

Total estimated resource requirements will amount to:

Provision has not been made in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009 for the above-mentioned activities, as illustrated under paragraph 9 above. It does not appear that it will be possible to absorb the estimated additional requirements of $151,200 within the provisions for the 2008-2009 biennium. Therefore, an additional appropriation by the General Assembly will be required for the biennium 2008-2009.

As regards the extension of existing special mandates, related provisions have been included under Section 23, Human rights, of the programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 and requested under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009.

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee will replace the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Council will decide that the Advisory Committee shall convene up to two sessions for a maximum of 10 working days per year. Additional sessions may be scheduled on an ad hoc basis with prior approval of the Council.

In order to implement the above-mentioned proposals, resources of US$ 710,600 for travel and daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for 18 Committee members attending two sessions annually will be needed under Section 23, Human rights, starting from the biennium 2008-2009.

Provisions for travel and DSA on a maintenance basis for the former Sub-Commission and its working groups have been requested under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009.

Requirements for conference servicing of two sessions of the Advisory Committee of five days duration each required under Sections 2, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management and 28E, Administration, Geneva, will be covered within the resources approved for the former Sub-Commission (three weeks per year). The resulting one-week saving in conference servicing requirements vis-à-vis the existing provisions for the Sub-Commission will be used to offset requirements for an additional week of meetings of the Working Group on Situations under the Complaint Procedure (see paragraph 18 below).

Resource requirements for travel, DSA and conference services relating to the working groups of the former Sub-Commission will be determined in connection with the Council’s review of their status at its sixth session.

The complaint procedure will replace the former 1503 procedure. The Council decides that:

Two distinct Working Groups shall be established with the mandate to examine the communications and to bring to the attention of the Human Rights Council consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee shall appoint five of its members, one from each Regional Group, with due consideration to gender balance, to constitute the Working Group on Communications;

Each Regional Group shall appoint a representative of a member State of the Council, with due consideration to gender balance, to serve on the Working Group on Situations;

Both Working Groups shall meet at least twice a year for five working days each session.

In order to implement the above-mentioned proposals, conference servicing resources starting in the biennium 2008-2009 will be required for two five-day sessions per year for both the Working Group on Communications and the Working Group on Situations.

Provisions for two weeks of meetings for the Working Group on Communications and one week for the Working Group on Situations under the former Commission and Sub-Commission mandates have been included in the 2006-2007 budget and were also requested under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009. The additional week of meetings for the Working Group on Situations will be offset against savings from the reduction of meetings of the former Sub-Commission by one week. Thus, no additional resources will be required.

In summary, should the Council adopt the proposed resolution, the following additional resources will be required by budget section:

The Secretary-General notes that the Council is expected to continue its review in September 2007 of the existing special mandates through 2007/2008. Accordingly, it may also be noted that the submission of related estimated additional requirements of US$ 7,846,500 will be submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session by which time the Council is expected to have concluded its revision of such mandates. The Secretariat will then be in a better position to determine the totality of resources required to implement recent Human Rights Council decisions.

List of attendance

Members

List of documents of the Council

General series documents for the fourth session, consideration of which was deferred to the fifth session

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Who created this mandate?

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