Introduction

The UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 [A/RES/60/251] established that Human Rights Council that replaces the Commission on Human Rights. The resolution decided that the Council will undertake a universal periodic review, which ensures universality of coverage and equal treatment with respect to all States.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is designed as a self review mechanism that each UN Member State undertakes every four years to assess the fulfillment of its human rights obligations and commitments. The Resolution 60/251 also maintained that the UPR - based on objective and reliable information- will be a cooperative mechanism, based on an interactive dialogue, with the full involvement of the country concerned and with consideration given to its capacity-building needs. The Resolution specified that such a mechanism shall complement and not duplicate the work of treaty bodies.

UPR Goals

- Improve the human rights situation on the ground;
- Fulfill the State's human rights obligations and commitments
- Assess the positive developments and challenges faced by the State;
- Enhance the State's capacity by providing technical assistance, in consultation with, and with the consent of, the State concerned;
- Share best practices among States and other stakeholders;
- Support cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights;
- encourage full cooperation and engagement with the Council, other human rights bodies and OHCHR.
For more information visit the UN Human Rights Council

UPR Documents

The documents on which the Universal Periodic Review is based:
1) State report:
Each Member State submits this report in accordance with paragraph 15(a) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 that stipulates: "Information prepared by the State concerned, which can take the form of a national report, on the basis of general guidelines to be adopted by the Council at its sixth session (first session of the second cycle), and any other information considered relevant by the State concerned, which could be presented either orally or in writing, provided that the written presentation summarizing the information will not exceed 20 pages, to guarantee equal treatment to all States and not to overburden the mechanism. States are encouraged to prepare the information through a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stakeholders."
2) OHCHR report:
A compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15(b) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 that stipulates: "Additionally a compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the information contained in the reports of treaty bodies, special procedures, including observations and comments by the State concerned, and other relevant official United Nations documents, which shall not exceed 10 pages."
3) Stakeholders/NGOs report:
Summary of additional, credible and reliable information prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15(c) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 that stipulates: "Additional, credible and reliable information provided by other relevant stakeholders to the universal periodic review which should also be taken into consideration by the Council in the review. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will prepare a summary of such information which shall not exceed 10 pages."

Both the State’s report and the summaries prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights must be ready six weeks prior to the review by the working group to ensure the distribution of documents simultaneously in the six official languages of the United Nations, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 53/208 of 14 January 1999. The stakeholders/NGOs reports must be submitted five to seven months in advance of the review for later summary by the OHCHR.

The Stakeholders, which are referred to in resolution 5/1, include, inter alia, NGOs, national human rights institutions, human rights defenders, academic institutions and research institutes, regional organizations, as well as civil society representatives.

Review Process

The review of a State report is conducted in one working group of the Human Rights Council that is composed of 47 Member States. The Review is chaired by the President of the Council. When a Member State is reviewed, a group of three rapporteurs (troika) are selected to facilitate the review and the preparation of the outcome report of the working group’s review.

The Troika of rapporteurs -formed by the drawing of lots among the members of the Council taken from different Regional Groups– is provided with assistance and expertise from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The review is based on three documents:
(1) State report.
(2) OHCHR report, and
(3) Stakeholders/NGOs reports

The duration of each review is three hours of interactive dialogue between each State being reviewed, the 47 Member States of the HRC and other UN Member States acting as observer states. Additional time of up to one hour is given to the reviewed state to respond to any written or oral questions and comments it had received prior to the day of the review.

UPR Outcome Report

Following the State review by the Working Group, the troika prepares- with the involvement of the State under review and the assistance from the OHCHR- the final review report. This report, referred to as the "outcome report", provides a summary of the actual discussion; and particulars about the questions, comments and recommendations made by other Member States to the country under review, as well as the responses and voluntary commitments of the reviewed State.

The reviewed State has the opportunity to make preliminary comments on the recommendations choosing to either accept or reject them. Both accepted and refused recommendations are included in the report.

During the Working Group session half an hour is allocated to adopt each of the "outcome reports" for the States reviewed that session. This adoption takes place no sooner than 48 hours after the actual review. After the report has been adopted, editorial modifications can be made to the report by States on their own statements, within the following two weeks.

The Outcome Report of UPR is then to be adopted at the next plenary session of the Human Rights Council. During the plenary session, the State under review can reply to questions and issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the Working Group and respond to recommendations that were raised by States during the review. Time is also allotted to member and observer States who may wish to express their opinion on the outcome of the review and for NGOs and other stakeholders to make general comments.

Follow up to the review

The follow-up of the UPR recommendations is very significant for meeting the primary goal of the UPR, namely to improve the human rights situation in the UN Member States.

The primary responsibility for implementing the outcome of the UPR falls on the reviewed State and, as appropriate, by other stakeholders. The State may develop implementation plans to deal with the recommendation as stated in the outcome report and the stakeholders can disseminate the outcome of the UPR at the national level and raise awareness of the UPR.

The cooperative-system of UPR enables the international community to assist in the implementation of the recommendations and conclusions as stated in the outcome report in providing capacity building and technical assistance in consultation with, and with the consent of, the country concerned.

During the following UPR review to take place during the 2nd cycle (2010-2015) the Council will focus on the implementation of the preceding outcome reports and consider those cases of non-implementation and decide if and when specific follow-up is necessary. The Council will address, as appropriate, cases of persistent non-cooperation with the mechanism.