Despite being an inter-state mechanism, civil society plays an essential role in the UPR bearing in mind its key objective of improving the situation of human rights on the ground in the countries reviewed.
There are a number of options for civil society organisations and groups to engage with the UPR. Some of these are stipulated in the rules governing the UPR; others are advocacy opportunities and activities on the fringes of the official process.
- Take part in the national consultations
The Human Rights Council has recommended that States prepare the information for the review through a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stakeholders. This provides civil society with a very useful opportunity for engaging with the process early on.
In advance of a country coming up for review, civil society groups and organizations may consider undertaking the following activities:
- Contact your government and suggest that they organise such broad national consultation
- Ask that the consultation process be widely publicised and involve a broad spectrum of civil society organisations, including women’s groups, indigenous groups, and so on.
- Participate in the national consultation meeting or event (if one is organized), including by bringing key human rights concerns to the attention of the state.
- Submit information on particular human rights concerns in countries coming up for review
Another important opportunity for civil society in the UPR process is to submit information on key human rights concerns a country coming up for review. These submissions will become part of one of the three official documents which form the basis of country reviews - that is the summary, prepared by the OHCHR, of “other objective and credible information”.
NGO submissions should not exceed five pages, unless submitted on behalf of an NGO coalition, in which case they can be extended to ten pages. The deadline for NGO submissions is usually around four months in advance of the relevant UPR session.
Find out information on the full schedule of review and how to make submissions and the deadlines from the website of the OHCHR.
- Follow the interactive dialogue in the UPR Working Group
The interactive dialogue of the UPR Working Group is between the state under review and other UN Member States; “other relevant stakeholders”, such as NGOs, may “attend” the dialogue, but may not make statements or ask questions of the countries under review.
To try to influence the dialogue, civil society groups and organizations may consider the following activities:
- Lobby Council members and observer states in advance of the review to raise pertinent human rights issues and questions during the dialogue and to make concrete and specific recommendations to address these issues and to be included in the final report
- Follow the interactive dialogue, either by attending the session or by following the debate via the UN webcast services (this is subsequently archived and can be watched at any point after the interactive dialogue)
- Make general comments before the adoption of UPR outcomes
The report of a country review is subsequently adopted by the Council during a regular session. At this stage civil society organizations with the necessary ECOSOC accreditation are finally able to address the Council directly.
To influence this phase of the review, civil society groups and organizations may consider the following activities:
- Submit written statements in advance of the session to comment on the outcome of a review;
- Attend the Council session and make an oral statement on the outcome of a review
- Lobby countries both as reviewed and reviewing states
- Lobby for prompt implementation of the outcome of the review
The key part of the UPR process is the prompt and full implementation of the recommendations in the outcome report to enhance respect for human rights on the ground. To influence this phase of the review, civil society groups and organizations may consider the following activities:
- Ask your government to organize a meeting with civil society groups and organizations to discuss measures to implement the recommendations arising from the review
- Identify opportunities, over the four year period until the next review, to continue to push for implementation of these recommendations
- Disseminate the recommendations in the outcome report to civil society partners.
For more information on the UPR and opportunities for civil society engagement check the following links:
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