WUNRN
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council – Special Rapporteurs & Independent Experts
The special procedures of the Human Rights Council are
independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human
rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The system of Special
Procedures is a central element of the United Nations human rights machinery
and covers all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and
social. As of 1 October 2014 there are 39 thematic and 14 country mandates. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/CountryandothervisitsSP.aspx
UN Special Rapporteurs & Independent Experts - Country
Visits |
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Mandate-holders
carry out country visits to assess the situation of human rights at the
national level : at the request of a mandate-holder, the Government will
send an invitation for a fact-finding mission. Some countries have issued standing
invitations, which means that they are, in principle, prepared to receive
a visit from any thematic mandate-holder. During
such missions, the experts assess the general human rights situation in a
given country, as well as the specific institutional, legal, judicial,
administrative and de facto situation under their respective mandates. They
will meet with national and local authorities, including members of the
judiciary and parliamentarians; members of the national human rights
institution, if applicable; non-governmental organizations, civil society
organizations and victims of human rights violations; the UN and other
inter-governmental agencies; and the press when giving a press-conference at
the end of the mission. Country
visits’ findings, conclusions and recommendations by special procedures are
published in mission reports to the Human Rights Council (All special
procedures country-related information can also be found in the Universal
Human Rights Index. Terms of Reference for Fact-finding missions by Special
Procedures The
terms of reference for country visits were adopted at the fourth Annual
Meeting of Special Procedures ( E/CN.4/1998/45) and are intended to guide Governments in
the conduct of the visit. During missions, Special Procedures mandate-holders
and United Nations staff accompanying them, should be given the following
guarantees and facilities by the Government that invited them to visit its
country: (a)
Freedom of movement in the whole country, including facilitation of
transport, in particular to restricted areas; (i)
Access to all prisons, detention centres and places of interrogation; (c)
Assurance by the Government that persons, whether officials or private
individuals, who have been in contact with the special
rapporteur/representative in relation to the mandate, will not, as a result,
suffer threats, harassment or punishment or be subjected to judicial
proceedings; |