UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré
7 February 2020
In his latest report to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (UNGA) on the status of the human rights treaty body system, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres refers to our work on the future of UN treaty bodies.
‘This work started back in 2015 with the Academic Platform on Treaty Body (TB) review, a major project that involved more than 300 academic partners and experts and developed key recommendations to improve the work of UN TBs underlines’ Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.
‘This project culminated in a report published in 2018, and we are very pleased to see that several states across all continents and regional groups, as well as NGOs, experts and members of UN TBs have endorsed a number of these recommendations’ he adds.
Today, the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) 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.
‘Our ongoing contribution notably involves regular briefings in Geneva and New York, guidance to improve the handling of individual complaints, tools to implement recommendations and optimize the planning of TB’s sessions, and comparison with the UN Universal Periodic Review System to identify good practices’ explains Felix Kirchmeier.
The release of the Secretary-General Report, the third and last in the lead-up to the 2020 TB Review will trigger the move of the debate from Geneva to New York, where discussions on a follow-up resolution to 68/268 should be expected in April.
‘Those negotiations provide an opportunity for States to address the challenges and shortcomings in the TB system and to ensure the sustainability of the monitoring system they themselves have put in place. The options are on the table, now it’s time for States to act’ adds Felix Kirchmeier.
Canva
In light of concerns about the dissemination of illegal content, disinformation and misinformation via online platforms and social media, our new Working Paper Regulatory Approaches to Online Harms and Human Rights: Three Case Studies discusses how to best place human rights at the centre of regulatory frameworks and legislation on online harms.
Domenico Zipoli
Our Geneva Human Rights Platform staff – Chloé Naret, Felix Kirchmeier and Domenico Zipoli – travelled to New York to discuss the future of UN treaty bodies.
IsaaK Alexandre KaRslian, Unsplash
This event aims at raising international awareness on the human rights situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and propose
recommendations for effective action by the international community.
Atlas Network
In this online event co-organized with the ATLAS Network, prominent women in international law will share their experience and advice through an interactive discussion.
Francisco Proner / Farpa/ CIDH
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, aims at presenting the institutions and procedures in charge of the implementation of international human rights law.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.
Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
The GHRP Fridays provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss the results of the United Nations (UN) Treaty Body (TB) 2020 Review and practical ways to implement change.
CCPR Centre
This project examined how IHL could be more systematically, appropriately and correctly dealt with by the human rights mechanisms emanating from the UN Charter, as well as from universal and regional treaties.