| United Nations Commission On Human Rights |
Article Index for United Nations |
Website Links For United Nations |
Information AboutUnited Nations Commission On Human Rights |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS | |
| human rights bodies | |
| united nations specialized agencies | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
HISTORY The UNCHR was established in 1946 at the first meeting of ECOSOC, and was one of the first two “Functional Commissions” set up within the early UN structure (the other being the Commission On The Status Of Women ). It is a body created under the terms of the United Nations Charter (specifically, under ''Article 68'') to which all UN Member States are signatories. STRUCTURE By the time it was extinguished, the Commission was composed of representatives drawn from 53 member states, elected by the members of ECOSOC. There were no permanent members; each year (usually in May) approximately a third of the seats of the Commission would come up for election, and the representatives were appointed for a three-year term. Seats on the Commission were apportioned generally by region. In the last ( 2005 ) composition of state membership, the representation by region was as follows:
The Commission would meet each year in regular session in March/April for six weeks in Geneva , Switzerland . In January 2004 , Australia was elected as chair of the 60th Session. In January 2005 , Indonesia was elected chair of the 61st Session. Peru was elected chair of the 62nd Session in January 2006. The Commission held its final meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 27, 2006 SUB-COMMISSION ON PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights is the main subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights. It is composed of twenty-six experts who undertake studies, particularly in the light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and make recommendations to the Commission concerning the prevention of discrimination of any kind relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms and the protection of racial, national, religious and linguistic minorities. Membership is selected with due regard to equitable geographical distribution. but nothing else. SPECIAL PROCEDURES OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS The Commission on Human Rights has established 30 special procedures, or mechanisms, that address specific country situations or thematic issues, such as Freedom Of Expression and opinion, Torture , the right to Food , and the right to Education {Link without Title} . Individuals with expertise in particular areas of human rights are appointed by the chair of the Commission to serve as Special Rapporteurs for a maximum of 6 years. They are independent and receive personnel and logistical support from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their work. They are not paid. These experts examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories. They can write to governments about reported violations and conduct fact-finding visits to countries that invite them. The special mechanisms are categorised according to: MANDATE The Commission on Human Rights aims to examine, monitor and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories (known as country mechanisms or mandates) as well as on major phenomena of human rights violations worldwide (known as thematic mechanisms or mandates). Supporters in most democratic countries consider the work of the UNCHR and the UN High Commissioner For Human Rights , to whom the Commission advises, as helpful for the worldwide human rights situation, yet it has critics, particularly in the United States . CRITICISM The Commission has been repeatedly criticized for the composition of its membership. In particular, several of its member countries themselves have dubious Human Rights records, including states whose representatives have been elected to chair the commission. Another criticism is that the Commission has not been used for constructive discussion of human rights issues, but as a forum for politically selective finger-pointing and criticism. The desire of states with problematic human rights records to be elected to the Commission is largely to defend themselves from such attacks. In May 2001 , the United States, which had been a member since the establishment of the body in 1947, was not elected to the Commission. The technical reason for this was lack of sufficient support from European States which were critical of Washington's opposition to the creation of the International Criminal Court . The United States was elected to the Commission again in 2003. On May 4 , 2004 , United States ambassador Sichan Siv walked out of the commission following the uncontested election of Sudan to the commission, calling it an “absurdity”, pointing out Sudan’s problems with Ethnic Cleansing in the Darfur region. Activist groups have long expressed a concern for the memberships of the People's Republic Of China , Cuba , Zimbabwe , Russia , Saudi Arabia , and Pakistan , and the past memberships of Algeria , Syria , Libya , and Vietnam on the commission. These countries have variously been accused of human rights violations, and the concern is that they will work against resolutions on the commission condemning human rights, thus indirectly promoting despotism and domestic repression. One major consequence of the election of Sudan to the commission is the lack of willingness for some countries to work through the commission. Indeed, on July 30 , 2004 it was the United Nations Security Council , not the Commission, that passed a resolution threatening Sudan with unspecified sanctions if the situation in the Darfur region did not improve within the next 30 days. The Security Council passed the resolution 13–0, with China and Pakistan abstaining. The reasons given for the action were the attacks by the Janjaweed Arab militias of Sudan on the non-Arab African Muslim population of Darfur, a region in western Sudan. At the same time, human rights violations committed in the North, such as issues relating to torture, arbitrary detention, migration are rarely challenged. For instance, the Commission was unable to reach agreement on any text sanctioning the United States for its treatment of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib detention Centre or at Guantánamo Bay. HUMAN RIGHTS AND MENTAL HEALTH In 1977 , the commission formed a “Sub-Commission to study, with a view to formulating guidelines, if possible, the question of the protection of those detained on the grounds of mental ill-health against treatment that might adversely affect the human personality and its physical and intellectual integrity”. The sub-commission was charged with “determin {Link without Title} whether adequate grounds existed for detaining persons on the grounds of mental ill-health.” The guidelines that resulted have been criticized for failing to protect the rights of involuntary patients {Link without Title} . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
REFERENCES |