23/03/2015

Group of 47 NGOs calls on States to focus on quality, not quantity at UPR

A group of 47 NGOs, led by UPR Info, took the floor at the Human Rights Council 28th session to call on States to focus on the quality of UPR recommendations, not their quantity.

On Friday 20 March, at the general debate under item 6, Roland Chauville, Executive Director of UPR Info, shared the view of the NGOs that it was "misguided to focus on the quantity of recommendations" as limiting the number of recommendations could be detrimental to the UPR process. Indeed, if fewer recommendations were made, important issues would be left aside. Moreover, having many similar or identical recommendations on a given issue shows the concerns of the international community on a specific issue. NGOs concluded that the main problem at the UPR was the proportion of weak, unspecific recommendations, not the overall number itself.

This statement came as a response to repeated calls from some actors to decrease the number of recommendations made at the UPR, and notably the commitment by some States to limit to two the number of recommendations made to each State under review.

Watch the video of the statement here.