UNHRC
Overview:
- It was started on March 15, 2006, one year ago. The previous UN Commission on Human Rights was replaced by it.
- Geneva, Switzerland serves as the UNHRC’s administrative center.
- It is a worldwide organization with the responsibility of enhancing global advocacy for and defence of human rights.
- The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights houses the secretariat of the Human Rights Council (OHCHR).
- 47 UN Member States were chosen for it by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). After serving two consecutive terms, Council members are ineligible for instant reelection.
The seats are distributed among the United Nations regional groupings:
- African nations have 13 seats.
- Asia and the Pacific: 13 seats
- Latin American and Caribbean nations make up 8 of the places.
- 7 seats for Western Europe and other nations
- Countries of Eastern Europe: six seats
The goals of UNHRC are:
- While investigating reports of human rights abuses in UN member states is the UN Human Rights Council’s main objective, it also aims to make sure that the following human rights concerns are fully addressed and protected.
- An honour to come together
- Rights to utterance and expression
- Along with the rights of the LGBT community, racial and ethnic minorities, and religious freedom, women’s rights are also safeguarded.
At the UNHRC, India:
- Concerned about the anticipated Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) release in 2020, many UN Special Rapporteurs recently wrote to the Indian government.
- The National Human Rights Commission of India delivered its midway report to the Council in 2020 as a part of the third stage of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure.
- India was chosen to join the Council by a unanimous vote for a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2019.
Worries about the UNHRC:
- The United Nations Human Rights Council has faced criticism throughout the years for both failing to resolve human rights issues and choosing members with dubious human rights records. Members include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, and other countries.
- Every time the UNHRC meets, there are accusations of an anti-Israel bias since resolutions drawing attention to alleged human rights violations by Israel are adopted while identical allegations from the Palestinian side are dismissed.
- It was claimed in 2008 that a tiny group of Middle Eastern and African nations controlled the UNHRC to protect one another from criticism with assistance from China and Russia.
- Similar to the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council chooses its members from countries with murky or dubious human rights histories, such as China, Pakistan, and Russia. It calls into doubt the team’s efficiency and objectivity.
Conclusion:
- The United States, which quit the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, has announced its intention to rejoin it. Since so many nations already protect their citizens’ fundamental rights, the UNHRC is an excellent idea. If the organization is to realize its full potential, it must constructively address its weaknesses.
