In May 2009, the government's overall performance on human rights will be examined for the first time through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. The UPR is a mechanism established in 2006 whereby the UN Human Rights Council reviews whether or not UN member states are fulfilling their human rights obligations and commitments.
This page has information about the UPR process and how NGOs can be involved in it. There are four sections below:
About the UPR
The UPR is a mechanism established in 2006 whereby the UN Human Rights Council reviews whether or not UN member states are fulfilling their human rights obligations and commitments. Each state is reviewed once every four years.
Each state's performance is reviewed in relation to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights instruments which the state is a party to, any human rights pledges it has made (such as when campaigning for election to the Human Rights Council), and applicable international humanitarian law.
Although the international human rights instruments are an essential element in assessing each state's performance, there are two big differences between the UPR process and the process of the UN human rights committees which monitor state compliance with their respective international Covenant or Convention - the UPR process is done by states, rather than independent human rights experts; and NGO submissions for the UPR process are submitted before the state report, rather than after as happens with the human rights committees.
There are several stages to the UPR process. The first stage, advance preparation of the three documents upon which reviews are based, is where NGOs can have the most input. The three documents are:
1) information prepared by the state under review;
2) a compilation of UN information on the state under review prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); and
3) a summary of information submitted by other relevant stakeholders - including NGOs, human rights defenders, National Human Rights Institutions, academic institutions and so on - which is put together by the OHCHR.
A troika, consisting of three Rapporteurs, is selected by drawing lots and its role is to assist the Working Group on the UPR (composed of the 47 member states of the Human Rights Council) - each state under review has a different troika.
The review itself takes place in Geneva in the Working Group, and takes the form of the state presenting its report, and an interactive dialogue held between the state under review and Human Rights Council member and observer states. Following the interactive dialogue, the troika prepares the report of the Working Group which contains a full account of the proceedings, with the involvement of the state under review and with the assistance of the Secretariat.
The Working Group then adopts an outcome document (report), which can be modified by states within the following two weeks. The next stage is the adoption of the report in a plenary session of the Human Rights Council.
Following the adoption of the report by the Human Rights Council, the state is required to implement the recommendations contained in it. More information on the UPR process is available here.
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NZ and the UPR
The NZ government's UPR is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 7 May, with the adoption of the report on Monday, 11 May. The troika for NZ comprises the Philippines, Italy and Mauritius.
The government's human rights performance will be reviewed in relation to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (English / te reo Maori), and the seven core international human rights instruments it is a party to:
NZ is not a state party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families or the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The government has not as yet made any voluntary human rights pledges, although it has put itself forward for election to the Human Rights Council next year.
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How NGOs can be involved in the UPR
The deadline for UPR submissions from NGOs in Aotearoa New Zealand is 10 November 2008. Submissions by a single organisation are limited to a maximum of 5 pages, joint submissions made by coalitions of organisations are limited to a maximum of 10 pages (although more detailed and factual reports can be appended).
You are invited to contribute to one or more of the three thematic joint submissions, as well as the overarching joint submission, which are being coordinated by different NGOs. Contacts for the joint submissions are:
Timeline for joint submissions: as submissions have to be sent to the OHCHR by 10 November, the timeline is tight. For thematic reports, please contact the coordinating NGO and indicate an interest in contributing by Monday, 13 October; and send any content to them by Thursday, 23 October at the latest. The coordinators will then collate contributions and achieve consensus on a
joint document by Friday, 31 October. This will allow time for the overarching joint submission to be finalised.
Resources
- Presentation on the combined NGO UPR submissions for the ANZTSR Conference,
Human Rights Foundation and Peace Movement Aotearoa, 25 November 2008
Will the Universal Periodic Review make a difference in the Pacific? Natalie Baird, 10 December 2008
Where you can get more information: Information and Guidelines for Relevant Stakeholders includes information on how to make a submission to the UPR; and information about how NGOs can be involved in the UPR during and beyond the submission stage is available here.
NZ's performance on racial discrimination | Peace Movement Aotearoa