Human Rights Council

Fifty-second Session of the Human Rights Council

52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council

27 February-31 March, Geneva, Switzerland

Briefing at UN HQ by the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Federico Villegas

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Federico Villegas, OHCHR New York Office is pleased to invite you to a briefing on Monday, 31 October 2022 from 13.30 – 14.30 in Conference Room 8 at UN Headquarters in New York. The briefing will provide an opportunity for the President of the Human Rights Council to present the outcome of the 51st session of the Human Rights Council. Time will be set aside during the briefing for questions and answers.

Please register at bit.ly/3DgvTya by CoB on Wednesday, 26 October.

Best regards,

OHCHR New York Office

51st regular session of the Human Rights Council

Dear civil society,

The Human Rights Council will hold its fifty-first regular session from 12 September to 7 October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Nada Al-Nashif, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, currently serving as acting High Commissioner, will present the High Commissioner’s oral update at 9 a.m. on Monday, 12 September in room XX.

Event info for in-person and/or virtual participation by NGOs:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session51/regular-session

https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/accreditation

Panel discussions to include:

Biennial panel discussion on the right to development
Theme: 35 years on: policy pathways to operationalizing the right to development
Annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of the Human Rights Council and that of its mechanisms
Theme: Overcoming gender-based barriers to freedom of opinion and expression
Panel discussion on the future of the right to work in connection with climate change actions, responses and impacts in the context of sustainable and inclusive economies
Annual half-day panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples
Theme: Impact of social and economic recovery plans in the COVID-19 context on indigenous peoples, with a special focus on food security
Panel discussion on the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human right

The Human Rights Council:

The composition of the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session is as follows: Argentina (2024); Armenia (2022); Benin (2024); Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (2023); Brazil (2022); Cameroon (2024); China (2023); Côte d’Ivoire (2023); Cuba (2023); Czechia (2023); Eritrea (2024); Finland (2024); France (2023); Gabon (2023); Gambia (2024); Germany (2022); Honduras (2024); India (2024); Indonesia (2022); Japan (2022); Kazakhstan (2024); Libya (2022); Lithuania (2024); Luxembourg (2024); Malawi (2023); Malaysia (2024); Marshall Islands (2022); Mauritania (2022); Mexico (2023); Montenegro (2024); Namibia (2022); Nepal (2023); Netherlands (2022); Pakistan (2023); Paraguay (2024); Poland (2022); Qatar (2024); Republic of Korea (2022); Senegal (2023); Somalia (2024); Sudan (2022); Ukraine (2023); United Arab Emirates (2024); United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2023); United States of America (2024); Uzbekistan (2023); and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (2022).

The President of the Council is Federico Villegas (Argentina). The Vice-Presidents are Andranik Hovhannisyan (Armenia); Muhammadou M.O. Kah (Gambia); Katharina Stasch (Germany); and Vice-President and Rapporteur Ulugbek Lapasov (Uzbekistan).

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights/NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

Fostering freedom of expression through the UPR process: Enhancing Synergies between UNESCO and the Human Rights Council

High-level discussion on “Fostering freedom of expression through the UPR process: Enhancing Synergies between UNESCO and the Human Rights Council”

When: 5 September 2022 15:00-16:30 (CEST)
Where: Room XVII – UN Palais des Nations, Geneva. The event will be open for in-person participation in Geneva and will be live-streamed on the UNWebcast.
Read more (full invitation, concept note and registration link for those without a UN badge will be posted here as they become available)

Programme:

Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR
Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO
H.E. Mr. Santiago Irazabal Mourão, President of the General Conference of UNESCO
H.E. Mr. Federico Villegas, President of the Human Rights Council
Q&A session

Guidelines for Civil Society Organizations:

Built upon a joint Amnesty-UNESCO survey of more than 70 civil society respondents from different regions; these guidelines offer recommendations and insights about the key challenges and needs for NGOs to effectively contribute to the UPR process.

For more information please contact hrcpresidency@un.org or f.amoros-cascales@unesco.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu. For more information on the NGO Major Group, please visit ngomg.org.

Investing in sustainable recovery, advancing gender equality and strengthening partnerships – Towards a renewed social contract anchored in human rights

Dear Colleagues,

The Human Rights Council’s fourth intersessional meeting for dialogue and cooperation on Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “Investing in sustainable recovery, advancing gender equality and strengthening partnerships – Towards a renewed social contract anchored in human rights” will be held virtually on Tuesday, 18 January 2022, at 10:00-12:00 CET. More information, including the Save the Date, is available here. We look forward to your participation.

Watch live: http://webtv.un.org

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

Briefing for representatives of the civil society by the President of the Human Rights Council

On behalf of the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem, OHCHR New York Office is pleased to invite you to a virtual briefing on Thursday, 28 October 2021 from 1500 – 1600 New York time. The briefing in virtual setting will provide an opportunity for the President of the Human Rights Council to present the outcomes of the 46th, 47th and 48th sessions of the Human Rights Council. Some limited time will be set aside during the briefing for questions and answers.

The meeting will be held virtually via MS Teams. Please register here. The link for the meeting will be communicated to all who registered closer to the date of the briefing.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security at ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org.

Deepening Inequalities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Implications for the Realization of Human Rights

HRC48 Panel Discussion on Inequalities Exacerbated by COVID-19

Join us at the 48^th Session of the Human Rights Council for the panel discussion on Deepening Inequalities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Implications for the Realization of Human Rights on 28 September, 2021.

We invite you to consult the Human Rights Council Extranet webpage to view the full program agenda.

The panel discussion will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org.

Towards the creation of a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change

Dear friends and colleagues,

As the 47th session of the Human Rights Council (21 June-13 July 2021) is about to end, we would like to invite you to a virtual briefing for civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, to take stock of the most recent developments on the proposal to establish a new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change under the Human Rights Council and discuss the way forward.

The event Towards the creation of a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change: Briefing on the June/July 2021 Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC47) will take place on Thursday 15 July, from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM GMT+2/CEST.

Register at the following link: https://bit.ly/2SVkcZu. Interpretation in French and Spanish will be provided.

Please find the concept note here and the background note here.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

UN HRC47 side event: National security and civic space in Asia

Across Asia, there has been a growing trend of using national security and counter-terrorism legislation to curb the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

In this virtual side event to the 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council organized by Civicus, Franciscans International, and FORUM-ASIA, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay will join human rights experts from India, Indonesia, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association Clément Voule in examining the impact of counter-terrorism legislation on civic space and in making recommendations on human rights protection to the United Nations Human Rights Council, States, and civil society.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice, please visit crimealliance.org.

Launch of the UN Global Report on Ageism

On March 18, join the UN Decade of Healthy Living for the launch of the first UN Global report on ageism and the start of a global conversation on why ageism matters and how we can tackle it.

Through an interactive and engaging discussion, this online event will challenge how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing. The event will launch the first UN Global report on ageism, developed by WHO, OHCHR, UNDESA, and UNFPA. The report presents the latest evidence on a topic that has only gained greater relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will highlight what we know about ageism, why it matters, and how we can tackle it. It will also kick off a global conversation that concerns us all and in which we all should have our say. People that join the first conversation will be provided with resources to spark their own conversations.

Ageism refers to how we think (stereotypes), feel (prejudice) and act (discrimination) towards others or ourselves based on age.
Ageism against older and younger people is highly prevalent worldwide.
Ageism exists in our institutions, our relationships and ourselves, and affects us from childhood into older age.
Ageism has an impact on all aspects of people’s health and costs individuals and society billions of dollars.
Ageism can be combatted. Join the event to learn how.

This online event will be held in English on Zoom and requires pre-registration. Register here!

Help spread the word about ageism by using and following the hashtag #AWorld4AllAges.

This event is a side event of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit facebook.com/ageinggeneva or ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

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