On Behalf of the United Nations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Falk
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Occupied Palestinian Territory ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Palestinian Territory

This chapter reflects on the role as special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), which investigated the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The chapter first provides an overview of the role and office of special rapporteur, noting that UN concerns about Israel and responses to Palestinian grievances are highly politicized within the organization, before discussing some of the characteristics that distinguish the mandate established by the HRC and made applicable to Occupied Palestine. It also explains what was accomplished in six years as special rapporteur of the HRC and details the controversies and pressures attached to that job. It shows that the “UN” comprises different layers, agendas, and interests. The chapter claims that while the United Nations secretary-general in New York permitted personal attacks against the special rapporteur, the leadership and professionals of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva strongly supported his efforts in what the chapter calls the “legitimacy war”.

scholarly journals United States Withdraws from the UN Human Rights Council, Shortly After Receiving Criticism About Its Border Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-751 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Undocumented Families ◽  
Border Policy ◽  
The United Nations

On June 19, 2018, the United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council. Announcing this decision, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley characterized the Council as “a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo observed that while “the United States has no opposition in principle to multilateral bodies working to protect human rights,” nonetheless “when organizations undermine our national interests and our allies, we will not be complicit.” The withdrawal occurred one day after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized the United States in a speech at the Human Rights Council for its “unconscionable” practice of forcibly separating undocumented families entering the United States. In August, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton stated that in addition to withdrawing from the Council, the United States would also reduce its assessed contribution to the United Nations by the amount that would ordinarily flow to the Human Rights Council and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, Report of the Secretary-General, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/31/44

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 269-293
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Occupied Palestinian Territory ◽  
Palestinian Territory ◽  
The Impact ◽  
East Jerusalem

Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 28/27 on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. It presents the human rights situation through an analysis of how the occupation and associated measures restrict freedom of movement, and examines the impact of those restrictions on Palestinians’ enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Human Rights Prize awarded to the ICRC

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (207) ◽  
pp. 341-341
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations

The International Committee of the Red Cross was one of the recipients of the 1978 Human Rights Prize, which the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, presented to the President of the ICRC, Mr. Alexander Hay, in New York on 11 December before the United Nations General Assembly, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. The prize was awarded to the ICRC for its work in promoting observance of human rights.

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Makarim Wibisono

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-290
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Occupied Palestinian Territory ◽  
Palestinian Territory

Summary The present report, submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/2 A and Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, is primarily based on interviews and briefings held with victims, civil society representatives, human rights defenders, and Palestinian officials, among others, in Amman and Cairo in September 2014. The Special Rapporteur made every effort to contact Palestinian victims and witnesses via video and teleconference. In the report, he addresses a number of concerns pertaining to the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and in particular, on their impact on children.

UNHCR, Human Rights and Refugees Collection and Dissemination of Sources

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 35-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Mason
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Information Centre ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Self Image ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Policy Level ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The City

In a statement to the 52nd session of the Commission on Human Rights, then UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali characterized Geneva as the “city of human rights.” Interestingly, the first organization he used to illustrate his point was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. While others may share this view of UNHCR as a “human rights organization,” UNHCR–at least on the policy level-has been slower to adopt this self-image. At the same time, it is easy to categorize UNHCR's Centre for Documentation and Research (CDR) as a “refugee and human rights” information centre because it sets out specifically to collect materials which fall within the human rights domain. To give you a better sense of the context in which CDR develops its collections, I would like to first review UNHCR's activities as they relate to refugees and human rights, then conduct a brief demonstration of a database which provides access to a significant repository of human rights documentation. Then you can decide for yourselves whether or not UNHCR indeed qualifies as a “human rights organization”!

The Case for Crimes against Humanity in Eritrea

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-256
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Mekonnen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
First Report ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
One Year ◽  
Made In

In June 2015, a commission of inquiry, mandated by the United Nations (un), published the most critical report of its kind on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. One year later, the commission said there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Eritrea since 1991. The findings of the commission follow in the footsteps of other ground-breaking reports that were produced by the un Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, appointed in July 2012. Over the next four years, the Human Rights Council has also adopted a number of resolutions in which it strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms committed by the Eritrean authorities. With a focus on the commission of inquiry, this article will assess an assortment of reports and official documents produced by the designated un human rights entities. Based on the assessment, assertions will be made that the conclusion made by the inquiry commission with respect to crimes against humanity in June 2016 should in fact have been made in its first report of June 2015, thus avoiding an unnecessary delay of one year.

UN Human Rights Council and High Commissioner for Human Rights

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekkehard Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Direct Link ◽  
Member States ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations

There is a direct link between the implementation of the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the mandates of the United Nations Human Rights Council and of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). While there is general agreement that the OHCHR has an important role to play in the implementation of R2P, this role remains largely undeveloped by the organization itself and undefined by other UN entities and Member States. This chapter discusses the role played by the Council and OHCHR in the implementation of R2P since 2005 and presents the broad lines of a development far from its completion.

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