Our organizations urge States to ensure that the review of the Special Procedures focuses on strengthening the system of Special Procedures. This means full integration of their information and analysis into the Council’s deliberations and decision-making, including in the Universal Periodic Review, and demanding cooperation of governments with the Special Procedures.
Mr. President,
I speak on behalf of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), and the International Service for Human Rights.
Our organizations urge States to ensure that the review of the Special Procedures focuses on strengthening the system of Special Procedures. This means full integration of their information and analysis into the Council’s deliberations and decision-making, including in the Universal Periodic Review, and demanding cooperation of governments with the Special Procedures. The Council should draw on the expertise and knowledge of the Special Procedures in the review of the Special Procedures and in the Council’s institution-building activities.
In setting up the review, the Council must also bear in mind that the Special Procedures were created to provide independent, objective, expert advice. Any failure to preserve the independence, objectivity, or expertise of the Special Procedures would call into question both the review and the Council.
The establishment of the Council provides a new channel through which the ratification and implementation of the international human rights treaties can be promoted. The Council must draw on treaty bodies’ information in the performance of its tasks, as the treaty bodies are the expert bodies charged with considering states’ implementation of their obligations under the international human rights treaties. This will be particularly important for the proposed Universal Periodic Review. The review should take account of analysis of the priority concerns in a reviewed state, as distilled from the findings and recommendations of the treaty bodies. It should consider the state’s record of ratification and compliance with reporting obligations. Together this would encourage increased adherence to the international human rights treaties.
We hope that the Council finds ways to draw on the knowledge and expertise of the treaty bodies in the development of the modalities for the Universal Periodic Review.
Thank you, Mr. President.
