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The 55th UN Human Rights Council met from 26 February to 5 April 2024, making it the longest Council session to date. A total of 33 resolutions were adopted, comparatively fewer than in the previous year. This again included numerous country mandates. Among others, the fact-finding mission on Iran was extended, which was set up at the instigation of Germany and Iceland in November 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini. It came to the conclusion that the subsequent repression of the nationwide protests under the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom" and the pervasive institutional discrimination against women and girls may amount to crimes against humanity. The International Commission of Inquiry on human rights violations in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression was also extended. In its latest report, the group focused on evidence on torture against Ukrainian prisoners of wars and concerning the unlawful transfer of children to areas under Russian control. Moreover, a group of three independent experts was mandated for the first time to further investigate the human rights situation in Belarus. The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan was also extended. And a historic resolution on the rights of intersex people was adopted. However, the spring session focused mainly on the war in Gaza. Among others, a resolution on accountability was adopted, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, the cessation of the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munition and other military equipment to Israel as well as for a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The text was criticised by Germany and the USA in particular, as although it calls for the immediate release of all hostages, Hamas itself is not mentioned.
Mapping Multilateral Progress on Climate Change, Antimicrobial Resistance, and National Action Plans: The latest developments from the WHO Executive Board meeting can be discovered with our three insightful maps. From addressing the intersection of climate change and health to accelerating responses to antimicrobial resistance, delve into the collective efforts of member states in shaping global health policies.
With only a few days before the beginning of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13), WTO members have not been able to agree on whether to renew or discontinue the Moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions (so-called E-Commerce Moratorium). The first map shows the positions of members according to four draft ministerial decisions. Two draft decisions support the renewal of the moratorium, one explicitly calls for its termination and one omits any mention of the moratorium altogether. The second map shows how members have sided on the issue of the E-Commerce Moratorium ahead of the last Ministerial Conference (MC12) and explores whether there have been any shifts. While there are no declared changes in positions, the most recent proposal of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is noteworthy because it distances itself to some extent from India and South Africa, who often act up as advocates of developing countries.
The map of the month January illustrates the voting behaviour of members of the UN Human Rights Council in 2023 in line with Germany’s versus China's positioning in the Council. A total of 109 resolutions were adopted in the Human Rights Council last year, 35 of which were put to a vote due to a lack of consensus. In addition to the EU member states, Montenegro, Ukraine and the United Kingdom voted most frequently in line with Germany; Cameroon (9%), India, Bangladesh, Sudan, Pakistan, Algeria and China (14% each) the least. Of all Central and South American Council members, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Chile and Mexico voted most frequently in line with Germany; of the African states Gambia, Benin and Malawi did so. By contrast, Eritrea, Cuba and Bolivia voted with China most frequently, while the United Kingdom never voted with China, the USA and the Czech Republic hardly ever and the EU member states represented in the Council, Montenegro and Ukraine voted with China least frequently. China and the USA only voted together once: they both rejected a resolution on the question of the death penalty.
Controversial elements in the negotiation of a pandemic agreement are discussed in four thematic sub-working groups. All WHO regions are involved in the facilitation of the sub-working groups: (1) the African region: Ethiopia, South Africa and Tanzania; (2) the Americas region: Canada, USA and Brazil; (3) the South-East Asia region: India and Thailand; (4) the European region: Norway and the United Kingdom, (5) the Eastern Mediterranean region: Egypt and (6) the Western Pacific region: Australia, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines. Each is chaired by a member of the INB office.
During the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties a declaration on climate and health was negotiated on 1 December 2023. In the first fortnight since the declaration, 142 countries and the European Union have joined, emphasizing the critical link between climate change and human health and the urgency of action.
Probably the most important document of the century turns 75: December 10, 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Initially drafted by Eleanor Roosevelt (USA) and Dr. Peng-chun Chang (China), representatives of 9 states came to encompass the Drafting Committee who worked on the 30 articles of the declaration which was ultimately voted upon in the UN General Assembly in 1948. The drafting states included: the Soviet Union (USSR), Australia, Chile, Lebanon, France, the United Kingdom and Canada. 48 states voted in favor of the text, 8 abstained (Soviet Union, Belarusian and Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Saudi Arabia, Union of South Africa) and 2 states did not vote. Important human rights mechanisms, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were adopted in the following years. Currently, 9 international human rights treaties exist whose implementation is monitored by committees of independent experts. In 1993, the UDHR was again reaffirmed by a total of 171 state representatives as part of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action (VDPA). The UN General Assembly with its 184 Member States endorsed the VDPA again on 20 December 1993, thereby reaffirming their support for the Universal Declaration. They also decided to establish the post of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Although human rights constituite one of the three pillars of the UN system alongside peace, security and development, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) only receives a tiny part of the UN regular budget, only 4.3% and thus remains severely underfunded.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated every year on 3 December. The year 2023 marks the 30th anniversary. It was not until 2006 that the UN General Assembly adopted a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in 2008 and has since been ratified by 188 States Parties. Seven countries have so far only signed but not ratified the convention: the USA, Liechtenstein, Bhutan, Lebanon, Tajikistan and Tonga. Eritrea and South Sudan have neither signed nor ratified it. In Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) monitors the implementation of the Convention. The situation in Germany was reviewed from August to September of this year. Germany's human rights situation was also scrutinised as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, with 15 recommendations from other states particularly focussing on the rights of people with disabilities, including the recommendation to promote a more inclusive education system.
Director KAS Genf Office
