~Madhushekhar Mallarapu
Introduction
UNO( United Nations Organisation) was created on 24th October 1945. It was established after the second world war to establish and stabilize the peace among the member nations. The UN currently has 193 member states and its work is guided by the policies and principles contained in its founding Charter.
UNO has many bodies to perform various tasks like implementing new policies, handling health, and trade, etc. They include UNHRC( United Nations Human Rights Commission), UNSC(United Nations Security Council), International court for Justice, WHO( World Health Organisation), UNGA( United Nations General Assembly), etc. of which UNHRC plays an important role in maintaining Human rights across the world. And there are 47 member countries in the UNHRC.
UNHRC(United Nations Human Rights Council):-
UNHRC
It was established on 15th March 2006, as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Organization. UNHRC has 47 seats of which each member has 3 years to chair and has only two consecutive chances. And those seats are allocated as follows: 13 for Africa, 13 for Asia, 6 for Eastern Europe, 8 for Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), 7 for the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). It has headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
UNHRC holds three sessions every year to audit the progress as well as make new suggestions to the member countries.
Role and Goals Of UNHRC:-
Picture Represents the Member Nations in UNHRC
The council has an objective of promoting “Universal respect, equality, and fundamental freedom for every person”. The council was established to tackle Human Rights related issues across the world. It will investigate the various causes and problems that are related to human rights abuse and find the solutions to solve them. It plays an important role in many countries to solve human rights issues such as Freedom of association and assembly, Freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, Women’s rights, LGBT rights, etc. These all are fundamental rights that every individual wishes to have and must have.
UNHRC Programmes:-
- Universal Periodic Review:– The council conduct a special session to publicly examine the human rights records of every member. This mechanism allows every member of the council to ask questions and also make recommendations to the other governments. This process helps the people who uphold human rights and holds governments accountable for their promises.
- Country-specific Scrutiny:- In this, the council appoints special members to perform more fact-finding missions to identify and examine every individual country. This helps to assess the situation and suggest solutions to the individual government.
- Access to Civil Society:- UNHRC is the most easily accessible body in the UNO. The council conducts three sessions in a year and many sub-sessions, expert panels, and sub-events, etc. These events help many individuals, NGOs, and activists to raise their voices about their countries and can seek possible solutions.
- Commissions of Inquiry:- The council established the commission of inquiry to help the independent fact-finding bodies. This helps to identify human rights violations and crimes against humanity; identifies the perpetrators and holds them accountable.
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