International Human Rights Law & Mechanisms

The United Nations
Human_ Rights_ everyoneThe United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental issues, from sustainable development, environment, to promoting democracy, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance, economic and social development, and more, in order to achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

The UN Charter sets out the purposes of the United Nations are:- To maintain peace throughout the world, to develop friendly relations among nations and to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and in promoting human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945.
United Nations : http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml


The UN Charter
The UN Charter sets out the purposes of the United Nations are:-

To maintain peace throughout the world, to develop friendly relations among nations and to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter. Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193 Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees. The UN Charter: http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml

The General Assembly
The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative organ of the UN. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, the Assembly meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year, and thereafter as required. http://www.un.org/en/ga/

The Security Council
Under the Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions. All members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the United Nations make recommendations to member states, only the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member states are then obligated to implement under the Charter.

In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security. The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice. http://www.un.org/en/sc/

International Court of Justice
The UN is divided into six principal organs: the Trusteeship Council, the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice , and the Secretariat.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America). http://www.reparationlaw.com/resources/the-permanent-court-of-international-justice-1922-1946/

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) represents the world’s commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, promoting and encouraging respect for human rights for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion, as stipulated in the United Nations Charter, has been one of the fundamental goals of the organization.The OHCHR is based in Geneva, is the principal human rights official of the United Nations with a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights.

The High Commissioner heads OHCHR and spearheads the work of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, such as the Human Rights Council and the core treaty bodies set up for monitoring State Parties’ compliance with international human rights treaties. It promotes the right to development, coordinates United Nations human rights education and public information activities, and strengthens human rights across the United Nations system. The OHCHR works to ensure the enforcement of universally recognized human rights norms, including through promoting both the universal ratification and implementation of the major human rights treaties and respect for the rule of law. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx

UN Charter-Based Mechanisms (UN Charter-based bodies)
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) works to offer the best expertise and support to the different human rights monitoring mechanisms in the United Nations system : UN Charter-based bodies, including the Human Rights Council, and bodies created under the international human rights treaties and made up of independent experts mandated to monitor State parties’ compliance with their treaty obligations. Most of these bodies receive secretariat support from the Human Rights Council and Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Charter bodies include the former Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and Special Procedures.

UN Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. The Human Rights Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006. The Human Rights Council meets in regular sessions in Geneva. The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. More information on the Human Rights Council

UN Treaty-based bodies
There are currently ten human rights treaty bodies, which are committees of independent experts. Nine of these treaty bodies monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties while the tenth treaty body, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, established under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, monitors places of detention in States parties to the Optional Protocol.

The treaty bodies are created in accordance with the provisions of the treaty that they monitor. OHCHR supports the work of treaty bodies and assists them in harmonizing their working methods and reporting requirements through their secretariats.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/HumanRightsBodies.aspx

Treaty-based bodies (UN Treaty-Based Mechanisms)

There are ten human rights treaty bodies that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties :

International Human Rights
The international human rights movement was strengthened when the United Nations General Assembly adopted of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948. Drafted as ‘a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations’, the Declaration for the first time in human history spell out basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy. It has over time been widely accepted as the fundamental norms of human rights that everyone should respect and protect. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet2Rev.1en.pdf

Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council
Special procedures is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Currently, there are 36 thematic and 12 country mandates. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides these mechanisms with personnel, policy, research and logistical support for the discharge of their mandates. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx

The Paris Principles
The Paris Principles were adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Commission by Resolution 1992/54 of 1992, and by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 48/134 of 1993. The International Coordinating Committee for National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) is the international association of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from all parts of the globe. The ICC promotes and strengthens NHRIs to be in accordance with the Paris Principles, and provides leadership in the promotion and protection of human rights.
The Paris Principles: http://www.reparationlaw.com/resources/the-paris-principles/

The UN system
The UN is central to global efforts to solve problems that challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system. http://www.unsystem.org/

Other United Nations Bodies & Mechanisms
There are several other important United Nations bodies and entities which are concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights. These bodies are not serviced by OHCHR.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/OtherUnitedNationsBodies.aspx

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)
The Trust Fund for Victims is the first of its kind in the global movement to end impunity and promote justice. The Trust Fund is capable of transforming Court-ordered reparations into credible and tangible forms of redress for victims of crimes adjudicated by the ICC. The Trust Fund for Victims

Complaint Procedure
The Complaint Procedure addresses consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of all human rights and fundamental freedoms occurring in any part of the world and under any circumstances‘. The Complaint Procedure operates on the basis of communications transmitted by individuals, groups or organizations that claim to be victims of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms or that have direct, reliable knowledge of such violations.The Complaint Procedure is a confidential process so as to enhance cooperation with the State concerned. The activation of the Complaint Procedure requires the exhaustion of domestic remedies unless it appears that such remedies would be ineffective or unreasonably prolonged. http://www.reparationlaw.com/resources/about-the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-faq/

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