1) How many countries are members of the Commission on Human Rights?
53 countries, representing all regions of the world.
2) To whom does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights apply?
To each individual, regardless of gender, race, religion or cultural background.
3) Can any victim of human rights abuses directly contact the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights?
4) Why is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights important to you?
Because it protects and promotes your individual rights.
5) What is the difference between a convention and a declaration?
A convention is a legally binding treaty, coming into force upon ratification by a certain number of States. A declaration is not legally binding but carries moral weight because it is adopted by the international community.
6) What is Procedure 1503?
A procedure that allows anyone or any group of persons to report human rights violations to the United Nations even when the case is not covered by a United Nations treaty…More about Complaint Procedure
7) How many human rights treaty bodies are there?
Six treaty bodies. Each treaty body monitors how countries implement a specific human rights treaty.
8) Which office in the United Nations is responsible for dealing with human rights questions on a daily basis?
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, formerly known as the Centre for Human Rights.
9) Which human rights bodies can hear individual complaints of human rights violations?
The Human Rights Committee that monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Committee on Torture.
10) How many human rights treaty bodies are there?
Six treaty bodies. Each treaty body monitors how countries implement a specific human rights treaty.
11) Which United Nations council selects the members of the Commission on Human Rights and on what basis?
The Economic and Social Council, according to regional geographical distribution.
12) What are the six international human rights treaties monitored by the treaty bodies?
13) Which mechanisms were devised by the United Nations to monitor human rights violations?
Conventional mechanisms (treaty bodies to monitor compliance of States parties to Conventions) and extra conventional mechanisms (Special Rapporteurs, working groups and Special Representatives of the Secretary-General).
14) What are special rapporteurs and what do they do?
Special rapporteurs are experts appointed by the Commission on Human Rights. They examine, monitor and publicly report on human rights situations and compliance of States with the various international human rights instruments.
15) What name is given to a series of conventions covering humanitarian questions in times of war?
The Geneva Conventions.
16) Which human rights bodies can hear individual complaints of human rights violations?
The Human Rights Committee that monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Committee on Torture.
17) What are special rapporteurs and what do they do?
Special rapporteurs are experts appointed by the Commission on Human Rights. They examine, monitor and publicly report on human rights situations and compliance of States with the various international human rights instruments.
18) What is the most recent human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly?
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted in 1990 but yet to go into force.
19) Which United Nations human rights treaty has the highest number of country ratifications?
20) What does CEDAW stand for?
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the treaty body that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
21) When was Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women adopted by the General Assembly?
22) Which United Nations treaty deals with genocide?
23) In which 10 places have United Nations human rights field offices been established?
Abkhazia (Georgia), Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Malawi, Mongolia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
24) Where does the United Nations Commission on Human Rights meet and for how long?
In Geneva for six weeks each year.
What is the role of the human rights field offices?
To assist in the development of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and to conduct information campaigns on human rights, among other activities.
Video – 2011: An extraordinary year for human rights
United Nations, New York, 10 December 2011 – 2011 has been an extraordinary year for human rights. Millions of people took to the streets to demand change and to claim their rights. Many found their voices through social media – they used the internet and instant messaging to inform, inspire and mobilize supporters to seek the basic human rights to which we are all entitled. In her message for Human Rights Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, asks that we celebrate the universal rights that belong to us all and the power of social media to promote and protect them. www.reparationlaw.com/humanrights/
Human Rights Day is marked annually on 10 December, it commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948.
