Patrick Kranzlmüller>
14 June 2021
At the 7 June, 2021 online meeting of the Chairpersons of the United Nations (UN) human rights treaty bodies (TBs), the Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform Felix Kirchmeier reiterated the importance of conducting dialogues with state parties concerning their reports at the national or regional level.
Introducing reviews in the region constitute an important step towards increased domestic stakeholder accessibility to UN TBs and closer interaction with national and regional human rights actors.
‘The possibility that TBs can act outside Geneva also presents an opportunity to give them greater visibility and to foster a stronger sense of universal ownership over time, and, as such, to strengthen the system and to contribute towards its long-term sustainability and impact’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier.
‘In this respect, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s extraordinary meeting in the Pacific island state of Samoa back in March 2020 has shown the many benefits of engaging on regional level’ he adds.
UNICEF Ethiopia/2019/Nahom Tesfay>
This move towards the national level would also allow for a lighter focused review between two full reviews, stretching the reporting cycle and facilitating states’ engagement with the TBs.
‘This is a real chance to bring us closer to full reporting compliance and universal engagement with the TBs’ says Domenico Zipoli, Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy.
This recommendation is a key outcome of the 2020 review (A/75/601) and has been supported by the GHRP since 2018. It is also in line with the call by 45 states – as voiced in their letter to the TB Chairpersons on the occasion of this meeting – to replace every second review with a focused review.
‘We are ready to support Un TBs in this endeavour by piloting this focused review at country-level with interested states and TB members ’ explains Felix Kirchmeier.
APF Library
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? This interview helps us understand better the specificities of the current highlight of the directory: APF Library
Geneva Academy
The 2024 Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP), held on 5 November at Maison de la Paix, focused on the theme Human Rights System Under Pressure: A Reason to Expand Connectivity.
This event presents the a public discussion of the Maastricht Principles’ legal commentary, exploring their impact on intergenerational justice and policymaking.
Adobe
This Human Rights Conversation will highlight the significance of academic freedom, explore its legal foundations, and examine the concrete threats it faces.
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.
ICRC
Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.
Victoria Pickering
This project aims at providing support to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Clément Voulé by addressing emerging issues affecting civic space and eveloping tools and materials allowing various stakeholders to promote and defend civic space.
Geneva Academy