Document - NATIONS UNIES. Premières élections au nouveau Conseil des droits humains le 9 mai 2006. Amnesty International appelle tous les États membres à veiller à ce que les 47 membres du Conseil des droits humains s'engagent pleinement en faveur de la promoti

United Nations Human Rights Council, 1st session
(19 – 30 June 2006)

Agenda item: Exchange of views with the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, the Vice-Chairperson of the 57th session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and the Chairperson of the meeting of chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies

Joint oral statement by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the International Service for Human Rights

Delivered by Patrizia Scannella on 23 June 2006

AI Index: IOR 41/010/2006

Mr. President,

I speak on behalf of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the International Service for Human Rights.

Our organisations urge States to ensure that the review of the Special Procedures focuses on strengthening the system of Special Procedures. This means full integration of their information and analysis into the Council’s deliberations and decision-making, including in the Universal Periodic Review, and demanding cooperation of governments with the Special Procedures. The Council should draw on the expertise and knowledge of the Special Procedures in the review of the Special Procedures and in the Council’s institution-building activities.

In setting up the review, the Council must also bear in mind that the Special Procedures were created to provide independent, objective, expert advice. Any failure to preserve the independence, objectivity or expertise of the Special Procedures would call into question both the review and the Council.

The establishment of the Council provides a new channel through which the ratification and implementation of the international human rights treaties can be promoted. The Council must draw on treaty bodies’ information in the performance of its tasks, as the treaty bodies are the expert bodies charged with considering states’ implementation of their obligations under the international human rights treaties. This will be particularly important for the proposed universal periodic review. The review should take account of analysis of the priority concerns in a reviewed state as distilled from the findings and recommendations of the treaty bodies. It should consider the state’s record of ratification and compliance with reporting obligations. Together this would encourage increased adherence to the international human rights treaties.

We hope that the Council find ways to draw on the knowledge and expertise of the treaty bodies in the development of the modalities for the Universal Periodic Review.

Thank you Mr. President.