UPR Outcomes at the 54th Session of HRC: Highlights

During the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council, the adoption of the outcome reports, also known as Item 6, for the 43rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review took place. 

The outcome reports of France, Tonga, Botswana, Romania, Mali, Montenegro, the Bahamas, Burundi, Luxembourg, Barbados, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Serbia, and Liechtenstein were examined and adopted. During the 43rd Session, 3,711 recommendations were made by Recommending States and 2,685 recommendations enjoyed the support from States under Review (72%).

Throughout the Item 6 session, most countries focused their developments and efforts on human rights issues such as women’s rights, rights of the child and persons with disabilities, and trafficking in persons among others. Although the level of implementation differs from one state to another, each country  has taken steps to progress human rights protection. This includes the launch of the human rights mandate within the Ombudsman’s Office in Botswana, development of national action plans, comprehensive or thematic, and equivalents in countries such as Romania, Mali, and Botswana among others. In addition, some States also expressed their commitment to submit a mid-term report; namely France, Botswana and Luxembourg.

Below you may find more information about each country’s adoption. 

The UPR is a journey to improve human rights. As Matthew Wilson, Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Barbados said: 

“Barbados is on a journey. One that some of the countries in this room may have already travelled. We are not at the destination yet but we are facing and walking in the right direction. I call on all partners to work with us as we continue to invest in and improve our human rights ecosystem.”

General Debate

On 4th October, UPR Info took the floor during the General Debate for Item 6 to address the rationalization of the programme of work and efficiency measures of the Human Rights Council, and more specifically on the suggestion of removing UPR adoptions from the Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions. UPR Info believes that  this decision could have an adverse impact on the process. The benefit of having adoptions during the HRC is that during this time a significant number of high-level delegations and civil society organizations participate in many events in a single location.

“Moving the adoptions outside of the HRC risks making the process less inclusive, since certain stakeholders may be unable to afford to attend the HRC and the adoptions, affecting the quality and number of participants”, said  Mona M’Bikay, UPR Info’s Executive Director.

The adoption of the outcome UPR report is a critical step in the mechanism because it commits the State under review to its peers and allows other States to encourage the implementation of specific recommendations, request more information on the reasons for noting a specific recommendation, or offer technical assistance.