NGO Committee on Human Rights

The Coordination Committee of Special Procedures is pleased to invite you to an informal conversation on

The preventive role of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and their contribution to Sustaining Peace

with

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Chair of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures

PBSO representative (tbc)

Mr. Adrian Dominik Hauri, Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations

Florence Foster, Representative for Peace & Disarmament – QUNO, Geneva

Date: Thursday, 19 May 2022 

Time: 13:15 PM – 14:30 PM (EDT) 

UN HQ, New York, Room 8

Special Procedures have a multifaceted relevance to sustaining peace. Their preventive potential firstly lies in their timely ability to draw the attention of the international community to emerging crises involving human rights violations and recommend early action to mitigate risks of violence and conflict. They also have the potential to reach a variety of international, regional and national stakeholders – including peace and security actors and those at the front line of protection – but crucially also State actors. The Special Procedures can thus contribute to more upstream prevention, throughout the consultations they conduct during country visits, their public statements, urgent appeals and communications, and the preparation of their reports and recommendations.

A recent study (A/HRC/48/21) illustrated the extent to which special procedures contribute to assisting States and other stakeholders in preventing human rights violations and abuses, demonstrating their significant prevention potential. In this study, prevention was approached from a broad perspective that encompasses all human rights and covering the whole spectrum of human rights actions, from providing guidance on the implementation of international standards, monitoring and reporting on their implementation and contributing to early warning and early action systems to providing advice and recommendations for technical assistance to States. Recommendations include ensuring more attention to the implementation of special procedures recommendations, including in the Human Rights Council, fostering continued dialogue between States and special procedures on follow-up or ensuring partnership between special procedures and other stakeholders, including within the United Nations, for an effective prevention strategy. The function of special procedures to provide technical expert advice to States and other UN bodies on how to implement their human rights obligations has also an important preventive
role

As mentioned in Our Common Agenda, there is a call for a fuller use of special procedures to solve pressing social, economic and political challenges. In line with the Common agenda and the Call to Action for Human Rights, efforts should be stepped up to link them better to other UN processes to maximize their impact and assist States parties with compliance.

OHCHR, PBSO and QUNO are working jointly on a project supported by Switzerland on Human Rights processes and mechanisms to sustain peace, focusing on Special Procedures. This informal conversation will give an opportunity to hear more about concrete examples in this context, exploring what these mechanisms would contribute to the peace & security pillar to more effectively sustain peace and
exploring the benefits of peacebuilding analysis and methods in the human rights spheres.

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CoNGO Notes: For information about the work of  CoNGO members and its substantive committees working on human rights, visit the NGO Committee on Human Rights in New York (email its co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com) and in Geneva (email its chair at aldep777@gmail.com). For more information about the NGO Committees under the auspices of CoNGO, visit www.ngocongo.org/ngo-committees.