Follow-up Review Pilot Series

Started in November 2021

In view of the 2020 United Nations (UN) Treaty Body (TB) Review recommendations, we are conducting a series of pilot follow-up reviews (previously called focused reviews), carried out at the national level between the TBs reporting cycles. These reviews are designed to discuss how countries implement specific recommendations issued by UN TBs, bringing, in such a way, UN TBs closer to the regional and national levels – and ultimately closing the implementation gap.

The decision by United Nations (UN) treaty body (TB) Chairs to adopt ‘an eight-year review cycle for full reviews, with follow-up reviews in between’ highlights the necessity to enhance follow-up procedures, especially considering the extended interval between country interactions with TBs. Given this new 8-year cycle, it becomes crucial to explore how follow-up reviews could be undertaken at the regional level, thereby making the UN TB system more relevant, responsive and closer to rights holders and duty bearers.

Our pilots aim at testing this new format. Two pilot reviews have been carried out in Sierra Leone and Grenada and will be followed by a third pilot follow-up review in the Pacific region.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

View of Fiji Island News

Third and Final Treaty Body Follow-Up Review Pilot to Take Place in Fiji

13 November 2023

Following Sierra Leone and Grenada, the third and final UN human rights treaty body follow-up review pilot will take place in Fiji with the participation of three Pacific Small Island Developing States, namely Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.

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A session of the focused review in Grenada. News

New Report Confirms the Potential of UN Treaty Bodies’ Focused Review for Human Rights Implementation

18 May 2022

The report of the second focused review pilot – conducted in St. George’s, Grenada, by our Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) with the Commonwealth Secretariat – shows the benefits that this exercise brings to both the work of UN treaty bodies and the implementation of human rights in countries.

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A group photo of participants in the pilot focused review News

Second UN Treaty Body Focused Review Pilot Takes Place in Grenada

8 April 2022

From 23 to 24 March 2022, the Geneva Human Rights Platform conducted in Grenada, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, its second pilot of a UN treaty bodies (TBs) focused review – designed to discuss how countries implement specific recommendations issued by UN TBs between sessions.

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TEAM

Picture of Felix Kirchmeier

Felix Kirchmeier

Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform

Felix Kirchmeier is the Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Picture of Domenico Zipoli

Domenico Zipoli

Project Coordinator

His research focuses on the question of connectivity among international human rights mechanisms and on national strategies for monitoring, implementation and follow-up of international human rights obligations and recommendations.

Picture of Stefania Di Stefano

Stefania Di Stefano

Project Officer at the Geneva Human Rights Platform

Her research includes international human rights law, business and human rights, human rights in the digital age, corporate responsibility, and the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.

Portrait of Victoire Berrebi

Victoire Berrebi

Project Assistant at the Geneva Human Rights Platform

Victoire Berrebi is a Project Assistant at the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Publications

Cover of the publication

Project Report: Treaty Body Focused Review Pilot of Grenada

2022

The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

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Cover of the publication

Project Report: Treaty Body Focused Review Pilot of Sierra Leone

2022

The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

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MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

News

In Highlight: IMPACT OSS Monitoring Tool

18 September 2023

Via its DHRTTDs Directory, the Geneva Human Rights Platform provides a comprehensive list and description of such key tools and databases. But how to navigate them? Which tool should be used for what, and by whom? In this interview, Dr Domenico Zipoli helps us understand better the specificities of the September highlight of the directory: IMPACT OSS.

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LLM students: group photo at Yerevan's market News

Exploring IHL and Human Rights: Our LLM Students' Journey to Armenia

13 October 2023

In July, students enrolled in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights embarked on a week-long study trip to Armenia.

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A session of the UN Human Right Committee Event

Transparency in nominations and elections to UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Towards a New Vetting System?

13 December 2023, 17:00-18:15

This discussion will look into election processes for UN TBs, the impact of Feminist Foreign Policy on this process, what can we learn from fellow international mechanisms, as well as the inclusion of a vetting process.

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View of a session of the UN Human Rights Committee Training

The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level

8-12 July 2024

This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.

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Afghanistan, Parwan detention facility. Inside a room where detainees of the prison, separated by an acrylic glass, are allowed to meet with their families a couple of times per year with the help of the ICRC employees who facilitate the programme. Short Course

Preventing and Combating Terrorism

25 April - 17 May 2024

This online short course discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.

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A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

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Online folders Project

Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases

Started in March 2023

This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.

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Publication

Business and Human Rights Global Helpdesk

published on November 2023

Stefania Di Stefano

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