Highlights of the Second and Third Sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council Including Summaries of the Second to Fourth Special Sessions
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410702500211 |
| Author | Bret Thiele,Mayra Gómez |
| Published date | 01 June 2007 |
| Date | 01 June 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Part C: Appendices |
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 25/2, 349–371, 2007.
© Netherlands I nstitute of Human Rig hts (SIM), Printed in the Net herlands. 349
PART C: APPENDICES
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SECOND AND
THIRD SESSIONS OF THE UNITED
NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
INCLUDING SUMMARIES OF THE SECOND
TO FOURTH SPECIAL SESSIONS
B T and M G*
1. INTRODUCT ION
is article sum marises highl ights of the second and third ses sions of the United
Nations Human Rights Counci l (Council). e second session ran f rom 18 September
to 6 October, a er which it was suspended unti l 27 November. e Counci l concluded
its second session on 29 November 2006. e third session of the Council was
opened on 29 November 2006 and concluded on 8 December 2006. is article also
summarises t he second, third and fourth Speci al Sessions of the Council.
At the second session, the Council adopted ve resolutions and sixtee n decisions.
Twe nt y d r a texts, including additional dra resolutions and decisions, were
postponed for later consideration. At the third session, the Council adopted an
additional four resolutions and four decisions.
For those readers interested in greater deta il of certain or al l aspects of these
sessions, please refer to the footnotes which provide citations to relevant Counci l
documents.1
* Bret ie le received his JD cum laude from the University of Minnes ota Law School and is Senior
Legal O cer and C oordinator of the Economic, So cial and Cultura l Rights Litigation Pro gramme
with the Ce ntre on Housing Rights a nd Evictions (COHRE) a nd an independent huma n rights
consultant. M ayra Gomez received her Doctorate fr om the University of Minnesota, is c urrently
the Acting C oordinator of the Housing a nd Property Rest itution Programme w ith COHRE and an
independent huma n rights consulta nt.
1 Please see the United Nation s O ce of the H igh Commissione r for Human Rights we bsite, available
at www.ohchr.org/englis h/bodies/hrcounci l/.
Appendices
350 Intersentia
2. BACKGROUND
On 3 April 20 06, the United Nations General Assembly e stablished the Human R ights
Council as a replacement to the U N Commission on Human Rights (Commission).2
e Council is an orga n of the General Assembly and based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Its mandate includes ‘promoting universal respect for the protection of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any ki nd and in a
fair and equal ma nner’ and ‘address[ing] situations of violations of human rig hts,
including gross and sy stematic violations, and make[ing] recommendations thereon’
as well as promoting ‘the e ective coordination and t he mainstreaming of human
rights withi n the United Nations system.’3
e Council also se rves as a venue for dialogue on human rig hts and for promoting
human rights obligations t aken on by States. e work of the Council is ‘guided by the
principles of universal ity, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivit y, constructive
international dialog ue and cooperation, with a view to enhancing t he promotion and
protection of all human rig hts, civil, politica l, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the rig ht to development.’4 e Council has assumed t he mechanisms of the
Commission, including Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives, Independent
Experts, t he Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protec tion of Human Rights, a nd
the complaint procedure establ ished by ECOSOC Resolution 1503 (1503 Procedure).
e Council is made up of 47 Member States of the United Nations. On 9 May
2006, the following Member States were elected by the General Assembly to one-
year terms: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, India,
Indonesia, Morocco, Netherlands , Philippines, Poland, South A frica, Tunisia. e
following member States were elected to two-year terms: Brazil, France, Gabon,
Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Mali, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sri
Lanka, Ukraine, the United Ki ngdom, and Zambia. e following member States
were elected to three-year terms: Az erbaijan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canad a, China,
Cuba, Djibouti, Germany, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Russian
Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sene gal, Switzerland, and Uruguay.
At its inaugural s ession, from 19 to 30 June 2006, the Council elec ted Ambassador
Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico as President. Ambassadors Tomáš Husák (Czech
Republic), Mohammed Loulichki (Morocco), and Blaise Godet (Switz erland) were
elected as Vice-Presidents. Ambas sador Musa Burayzat (Jordan) was elected as Vice-
President and Rapporteur. is bureau continued for the second and third sessions
of the Council.
2 General Assembly Res olution 60/251, UN Doc. A/RE S/60/251, 3 April 2006.
3 Ibidem, at para. 3.
4 Ibidem, at para. 4 .
To continue reading
Request your trial