Universal Periodic Review - OHCHR

1 UNIVERSALPERIODIC REVIEWA practical guide for Civil SocietyTable of contentsPart the to the Public Gallery ..7 Requesting a Room for an Information Meeting ..7 Documentation and in General ..8 Part II - Guidelines for Stakeholder IIntroductionWhat is the Universal Periodic Review ?Through a mechanism called the Universal Periodic Review , the HumanRights Council reviews, on a Periodic basis, the fulfilment by each of the193 United Nations Member States of their human rights obligationsand Periodic REVIEWHow does it work?A Review of a State is based on three documents: a national reportprepared by the State1under Review ; a compilation of United Nationsinformation on the State under Review prepared by the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR ); and asummary of information submitted by other stakeholders (including civilsociety actors)2, also prepared by Review itself takes place in Geneva in a session of the Working Groupon the UPR, which is composed of the 47 member States of the HumanRights Council.

2 The Review takes the form of a three-and-a-half-hourinteractive dialogue between the State under Review and the member andobserver States of the Council. A few days after the interactive dialogue,the Working Group adopts the report of the final outcome document, containing the report of the working groupand the position of the State under Review on the recommendations putforward, is adopted at the following plenary session of the HumanRights Council, a few months after the Review . One hour is set aside forthe adoption of each outcome. That hour is equally divided among theState under Review , other States, national human rights institutions, andNGO observers to deliver oral statements commenting on the its regular sessions, the adoption of UPR outcomes by the HumanRights Council is followed by a general debate under item 6 of theAgenda, on the Universal Periodic Review . Occasionally States thathave been reviewed under the UPR will provide an update on theirprogress in the implementation of the commitments that they have madeand the recommendations that they have supported in their examinationunder the practical guide for Civil Society1 Civil society stakeholders should be involved in the consultation process at the nationallevel leading to the preparation of the national on submission of input for stakeholder reports can be found at: Periodic REVIEWThe UPR processC.

3 Human Rights Council regular session Council considers each outcome documentfor one hourReviewed States, Council Member and ObserverStates and other stakeholders given opportunityto express views before adoption of outcomedocumentsOutcome documents adopted by the Working Group on the UPR Meets in Geneva for three two-week sessionseach year; examines 14 States/session(42 States/year) Interactive dialogue held with State under Review Adopts a report containing recommendations,conclusions and voluntary pledges Reviewed State indicates at this stage or later(at the latest during the next relevant regularsession of the Council) which recommendationsit does/does not Preparation of information towards reviewIncludes: State information, including through broadnational consultations (national reports)Compilation of United Nations information(prepared by OHCHR )Summary of Stakeholders submission(prepared by OHCHR ).D. Implementation of outcomes Responsibility of the State concerned,which is encouraged to conduct broadconsultations with all relevant stakeholdersVoluntary Fund for Financial and TechnicalAssistance to be strengthened and operationalizedNational or regional United Nations representationsto assist States upon their requestFinancial and technical assistance shouldsupport national needs and anda half yearcycleHow to submit information to be included in the summaryof stakeholders information?

4 Civil society actors, including NGOs,withand withoutconsultativestatus with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),can submit information. This information should be in line with theguidelines adopted by the Human Rights Council in its decision 17 should be submitted only through the new On-line UPR submissionssystem: in the summary willbe subsequently posted on the OHCHR website as a background document. For more detailed information, pleaserefer to the OHCHR website, and guidelines for stakeholders (see Part II).How to participate in a session of the Working Group?Only NGOs in consultative status with the United Nations Economic andSocialCouncil (ECOSOC) can be accredited to participate in thesession of the Working Group as observers. NGOs are able to observethe proceedings without making oral statements. NGOs may organiseInformation Meetings on the UPR process, with a view to sharinginformation and best practices at the country Working Group sessions are broadcast live via webcast.

5 Broadcastsof past sessions are archived and accessible from OHCHR s to participate at the adoption of the UPR outcome intheHuman Rights Council?Only NGOs in consultative status with the United Nations Economic andSocialCouncil (ECOSOC) can be accredited to participate in theplenary session of the Human Rights Council as the Human Rights Council session, NGOs may submit writtenstatements, and organize parallel events. In the plenary meetings,NGOs are able to observe the proceedings and to make oralstatements, provided that they are inscribed on the list of speakers, andcan be given the floor during the 20 minute-segment allocated to further information on participating in the session of the HumanRights Council, please refer to the NGO Participation Page of theHuman Rights Council: practical guide for Civil SocietySessions devoted to the adoption of UPRoutcome documents are broadcastlive via webcast, like all other agenda items of the Council. All NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC planning toattend a session of the Universal Periodic Review WorkingGroup must send a letter of request for accreditation to theSecretariat.

6 The letter should be sent well in advance of therelevant session and at least two weeks in advance if visaattestations are letter must contain the following elements:uSubmitted on the official letterhead of the organization;uState the title and duration of the session the organization wishesto attend, [Name of NGO], in consultative status withECOSOC, wishes to send the following members to attend theXthsession of the Universal Periodic Review of the Human RightsCouncil (dates of session).. ;uList the name/s (FAMILY NAME, First name) of the person/s whowill represent the organization at the session. Names of personsmust appear exactly as they appear in their passports;uList the name(s) of those members already in possession of a valididentity badge issued by UNOG Security and Safety Section,and who plan to attend the Council session, with an indicationthat the person(s) hold(s) an annual letter must be signed by the President, or Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the organization, or the organization s MainRepresentative to the United Nations Office at Geneva if he/sheis so send the letter of request for accreditation by email to in need of attestation of accreditation for Swiss visaapplication purposes, should state this explicitly in the letter of request5 Universal Periodic REVIEWfor accreditation.

7 Please consult Swiss consular officials in yourcountry regarding visa application deadlines, apply accordingly andensure documentation is in order. Please note that visa attestationsare issued by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG). If avisa attestation is required, please also send a copy of the letter tothe United Nations Office at Geneva NGO Liaison Officer to:Fax: +41 22 917 05 83E-mail: Note: When there is a large number of NGOs seeking toparticipate in a session, the Secretariat may limit the number ofaccredited participants per NGO delegation with access to the plenaryroom. Please indicate in your accreditation request whether you seekaccess to the plenary, the public gallery (see also below) or a parallelevent (see also below).Attending the SessionsThe UPR Working Group and the Council plenary sessionsboth meet in Room XX (room 20), Palais des Nations,United Nations Office at Geneva, representatives of organizations must obtain a photo identity badgeupon their arrival at the United Nations and before attending the session:Palais des Nations - Security entrancePregnyGate,8-14 AvenuedelaPaix1211 Geneva 10 Upon presentation of an identity document ( a passport) a photoidentity badge valid for the duration of the session will be issued.

8 NGOrepresentatives are advised to take a copy of the letter of accreditation(above) sent by the concerned representatives in possession of an annual or temporary photoidentity badge issued by UNOG Security and Safety Section, and validfor the duration of the session, will have access to the conference travel related-expenses, accommodation and medical insurancearrangements are the responsibility of the NGO or its practical guide for Civil SocietyAccess to the Public GalleryA limited number of seats in the Public Gallery, abovethe main conference room, Room XX, are available forpersons wishing to observe the proceedings of theWorking Group without being accredited asparticipants ( students and academics).Access to the public gallery will be granted depending on theavailability of seating and other or groups who wish to attend are required to hours before the desired date) with the following information:uDate of the visit;uPurpose of the visit; anduFull names of those wishing to a Room for an InformationMeetingNGOs may organise Information Meetings on the UPRprocess, with a view to sharing information and bestpractices at the country level.

9 Organizers are encouragedto inform and/or involve State(s) under for rooms are made on-line: These requests are processed in priority, subject to availabilityof Periodic REVIEWD ocumentation and ResourcesLinks to documentation and resources related to the workof the Working Group, including the webcast service,can be found here: of documents that form the basis of a Review may be picked upfrom the document desk at Door 40 of the Palais des Nations. Copies ofthe draft outcome report are distributed in the room shortly before itsadoption by the Working draft documentation, and copies of oral statements asdelivered by States, etc. can be found at the Human Rights CouncilExtranet, under the tab HRC Mechanisms & Subsidiary Organs .To access the Extranet: the General Information heading of the Human Rights CouncilExtranet, free subscription to our SMS alert service is can also stay informed through Twitter ( ).Please also consult theHandbook for Civil Society, available at: in GeneralAccess to UN premises and the plenary room(Room XX)uPalais des Nations is accessible to accredited NGOdelegates from 8 must comply with the requests andinstructions of United Nations officials and security8A practical guide for Civil Societystaff relating to access and use of United Nations facilities must display their badge visibly at all times whenentering and exiting, and while present on United Nations may be subjected to security scrutiny.

10 Access to theUnited Nations premises with large luggage is not occasions of increased demand for participation in a givenmeeting, the Secretariat may limit the number of accreditedparticipants per NGO delegation having access to the plenaryroom. In lieu, any additional NGO participants not being givenaccess to the plenary will have access to the public gallery, oralternate arrangements will be is not permitted in the Palais des Nations. Eating anddrinking are not permitted in the plenary and side-event of visual recording equipment is not permitted in Palais desNations, except within NGO Information Meetings (see below).Media areasuNGOs are not permitted to hold press conferences in UNpremises. Press briefings, and dissemination of press releasesand media advisories by NGOs may be arranged only throughthe Association of Correspondents Accredited to the UnitedNations (ACANU), materialsuNGO material ( leaflets, publications, boards, banners, etc)that is relevant to the work of the Working Group may be postedor displayed only on the tables and boards clearly marked forthis purpose ( outside plenary Room XX).