10/07/2012

UPR Info regrets lack of focus on implementation at Session 13 during UPR general debate

On 29 June, in a joint statement with Geneva for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council (HRC), UPR Info expressed its concerns that Session 13 did not look into the implementation of recommendations from the first cycle in a satisfactory manner.

Speaking at the general debate under item 6, UPR Info explained that only 16% of 2008 recommendations were followed-up by similar or additional recommendations at the 13th session which would imply that 84% of the 2008 recommendations were fully implemented. This seemed doubtful knowing that the average percentage of recommendations fully implemented at the mid-term was usually around 10%.

UPR Info called on recommending States to look into the recommendations they made at the first cycle and inquire into their implementation as consistent follow-up was the only way to make the UPR meaningful. Lack of follow-up would result in lack of accountability and would transform the UPR into a rhetoric exercise where States come to Geneva every 5 years to simply discuss human rights and receive only new recommendations without any reference to previous reviews.