Report on Informal
Consultation and Exchange of Views in
preparation for the United
Nations Human Rights Council
21 April
2006
This informal consultation was
held at the Palais de Nations and was chaired by the High Commissioner for Human
Rights. It was three hours long and was attended by NGO’s as well as several
state representatives. Ambassador
Arias from
1)
Issues relating to the
elections of members of the Council and process leading to 19
June
2)
Issues relating to the
opening ceremony and High Level Segment
3)
Issues requiring
urgent attention by the Council
4)
Other issues that
could be discussed at the 1st session
States and NGO representatives spoke and generally some points were highlighted:
It became clear from the statements that everyone was glad to have a formal informal session that was open and transparent and that representatives would like to have more of them. Seems many smaller discussions have been going on but this was the first time everyone, including NGOs, were there to address the issues in an open forum. It also became quite clear that nothing much has been decided and everyone is concerned with the session beginning June 19 and beyond. There was general agreement that there is little time and lots of work to do. As someone pointed out, it took over three weeks to agree how to do a 2 ½ hour "funeral" for the Commission, so preparations for the Council need to start.
As of now, it looks like the Council will be two weeks long. There will be a High-Level Segment and a normal session. When it comes to the organization of the work of the session, what is controversial is how long will the High-Level segment be, and how much substance will be considered in the normal session.
a. WILPF (NGO Participation in HR Council) and Amnesty International (Guide to Human Rights Council Candidates)both have charts up about the substance of what countries are promising if elected.
b. Two or three countries stated that not much should be done about organizing until after the election because so much time is being taken by negotiating for votes. One country reminded of the possibility that there might be glitches in the election because it requires 96 votes and that not all candidates may be elected on May 9.
c.
Many commented, and one said directly, that as much as
2.
Issues relating to the
opening ceremony and High Level Segment.-
a. Several countries would like to begin the work on the modalities of the Council now, and it was reiterated by several states that they would like to have a facilitator appointed, who can be a representative of a country that is not a candidate to the HR Council and based in Geneva, to begin discussions on the modalities for the first meeting. A few states thought any and all meetings on the HR Council should be left up to the Council members only.
b. The idea of having roundtables and working groups was also mentioned a couple of times, but was not echoed as much as that of a facilitator.
c. There was discussion by many states on how to adopt the president of what would be a parallel body to the bureau in the lead-up to the first Council Session. An Islamic regional group wants to continue the regional system of decision-making and do not want facilitators, rather a chair-designate to drive forward the process leading to the first session. Another state volunteered to be the facilitator that everyone was talking about but there was not much reception for this, since the country is a candidate for the Human Rights Council
d.
A European country delivered a statement on behalf of its regional
group at this meeting as well, which may mean they are thinking of keeping a
regional arrangement as well. The
e. There were many who mentioned that the Council deserved to have a dignified opening ceremony, but most noted that the symbolic and High Level Segment should be short, so as to deal with substantive matters as soon as possible. Some countries and WILPF proposed to have a very short high level segment with few speeches and much substantive work.
f. There was a mention of having the Convention on Enforced Disappearances adopted at the first Session of the Council so as to mark the beginning of the Council with some actual substantive action.
g. Human Rights Watch also mentioned that the High Level Segment should come up with concrete suggestions and mention the substantive pledges they put forward for election and that they would like to see the voice of victims heard in the opening ceremony, so that the collective responsibility for victims is not left on the roadside of the opening ceremony.
3.
Issues requiring
urgent attention by the Council
a. It was mentioned by the High Commissioner, States, and NGO’s that the Council members should consider the possibility of having an omnibus resolution to renew the mandates of special procedures until they are reviewed by the Council in later sessions.
b. Other urgent issued that were raised were:
i. The adoption of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances.
ii. The adoption of the Rights of Indigenous People (less often)
iii. Continuation of mandates for the year.
iv. Extension of mandates
v. Prevention of a gap in protection.
vi. Hearing reports of special procedures and other matters pending consideration that were left from the 62nd Commission
vii. Urgent matters – one country raised occupation as an urgent and serious matter.
4.
Other Issues that
could be discussed in the 1st session
a. There were some statements that called for creativity, flexibility and transparency, to try new initiatives:
i. For example there was a mention of having an arrangement of rotating chairships like the Executive Committee of the UNHCR.
ii. There is also the idea of having inter-sessional working groups, so as to enable the Council to deal with the large amounts of work that await it.
iii. The International Commission of Jurists was very outspoken about the need to look at alternative methods of working and new creative ways to establish the Council.
This report is meant to provide a general idea of where we are at for the preparations of the Human Rights Council and give an overview of the ideas that are being circulated in advance of the first session. Please email michelle@wilpf.ch if you need further information.