The latest session of the UN Human Rights Council has concluded with member states passing 34 resolutions on a range of issues (see summary below). It also saw outgoing High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay give her last address to the Council before stepping down in August, in which she highlighted a number of recent achievements and future challenges.
The session also included panel discussions on the safety of journalists, Female Genital Mutilation and a full-day annual discussion on women's rights.
Country-specific
Eritrea
A resolution sponsored by Somalia on the human rights situation in Eritrea was passed by consensus. The resolution established a Commission of Inquiry on the country - just the fifth of its kind in the Council's eight-year history - which will investigate alleged human rights violations for an initial period of one year.
Ukraine
Passed under agenda item 10 on issues of capacity-building and technical cooperation, the Council adopted its first resolution on the situation in Ukraine in a vote with 23 in favour, four against and 19 abstentions. The text called upon all concerned parties to protect human rights and to cooperate fully with, provide access to, and allow deployment of independent human rights monitors.
South Sudan
Also passed under agenda item 10 was a resolution on South Sudan which called for a halt to abuses being committed by both sides of the current conflict. In reaction to the decision, the UK stated that the resolution "fails to reflect the extent and seriousness of recent events in the country" and that "the establishment of a mandate holder to enable such monitoring and support is vital".
Thematic
Rights of persons with disabilities
The Council established by consensus a new Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur has been approved for an initial period of three years, and is mandated to "make concrete recommendations on how to better promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities".
Business and human rights
Controversially, two resolutions on business and human rights were passed at this session. A text co-sponsored by Argentina, Ghana, Norway and Russia was unanimously adopted, and called upon businesses to ensure that they act in accordance with the voluntary United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
A second text, sponsored by Ecuador and South Africa and passed by a divisive vote of 20 in favour, 14 against and 13 abstentions, established an open-ended intergovernmental working group mandated to elaborate a legally binding instrument on this issue.
In a statement the UK said, "the failure to agree on single resolution puts at risk the international consensus which has existed around business and human rights since the UN Guiding Principles were agreed in 2011".
Internet freedom
A resolution on "The promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet" affirmed that "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice". Last minute amendments tabled by China to weaken the resolution were rejected by the Council.
Photo: © UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré. Navi Pillay receives flowers from the President of the Human Rights Council at her final Council session before stepping down as High Commissioner for Human Rights.
