Diversity in Membership of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies

‘Diversity in Membership of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies’ examines the composition of UN human rights treaty bodies (TBs) notably in relation to gender balance, geographical representation, as well as TBs members’ subject-matter expertise and professional background.

Having as a point of reference our In-Brief No. 1 on the ‘Independence of the Treaty Body Members’ that examined the treaty body composition as of 2012, this paper goes further and analyses how TB’s composition has modified following the election cycles taking place from 2013-2016.

The paper is divided in four parts. The first part discusses the treaty provisions regarding TBs composition. The second part underscores the recommendations issued within the intergovernmental TBs strengthening process. The third part describes the methodology and limitations. The last part analyses the composition of TBs and its evolution from 2012-2016 along several axes.

The present study has been conducted in the context of our Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020.

AUTHOR

Ivona Truscan

NEWS AND EVENTS

Session of the UN Committee against Racial Discrimination News

New Paper Examines the Diversity in Membership of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies

27 February 2018

Our new paper ‘Diversity in Membership of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies’ examines the composition of UN human rights treaty bodies (TBs) notably in relation to gender balance, geographical representation, as well as TBs members’ subject-matter expertise and professional background.

Read more >

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Open practice at Villa Moynier News

Open Practice to Prepare the Mandela Moot Court Team

15 July 2022

Our team at the 2022 Mandela Moot Court participated in an open practice at Villa Moynier in preparation for the final rounds that will take place in Geneva from 18 to 21 July.

Read more

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.

Read more

Syria,  Aleppo, great Umayyad mosque. Destructions. Short Course

The Interplay between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Spring 2023

This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, focuses on the specific issues that arise in times of armed conflict regarding the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights. It addresses key issues like the applicability of human rights in times of armed conflict; the possibilities of restricting human rights under systems of limitations and derogations; and the extraterritorial application of human rights law.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

7-11 November 2022

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.

Read more

Mine Project

Business, Human Rights and Conflict-Affected Regions

Started in July 2021

This project aims to further identify and clarify policies and practices for States and business, including public and private investors, across the full ‘conflict cycle’ and the ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Read more

Flyer presenting the Geneva Human Rights Platform with other publications of the Geneva Academy on display Project

GHRP Fridays

Started in January 2019

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.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Implementing the Treaty Body Review 2020 – Where do we stand

published on May 2022

Felix Kirchmeier, Chloé Naret, Domenico Zipoli

Read more