International Human Rights Commission

 The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has
its headquarters in the historic Palais Wilson building in Geneva,
Switzerland
 The office was headed by High Commissioner
 On September 1, 2018 Michelle Bachelet assumed her
functions as the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights
 Office with a unique mandate to promote and protect all
human rights for all people.
 The United Nations human rights programme aims to
ensure that the protection and enjoyment of human rights is a reality in
the lives of all people.
 UN Human Rights also plays a crucial role in safeguarding the integrity
of the three interconnected pillars of the United Nations – peace and
security, human rights and development.
 It assists governments, which bear the primary responsibility for the
protection of human rights, to fulfil their obligations and supports
individuals to claim their rights.
Structure
 UN Human Rights is part of the United Nations Secretariat, with a staff
of some 1300 people and its headquarters in Geneva, as well as an office
in New York
 The Geneva-based headquarters has three substantive divisions
 Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to
Development Division (TESPRDD), which develops policy
and provides guidance, tools, advice and capacity-
 strengthening support on thematic human rights issues,
including for human rights mainstreaming purposes; and
provides support to the Human Rights Council’s special
procedures.
 Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division
(CTMD), which provides substantive and technical support
to the HRC and the Council’s UPR mechanism, and supports
the human rights treaty bodies.
 Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division
(FOTCD), which is responsible for overseeing and
implementing the Office’s work in the field.
What they do
 to promote and protect human rights for all
 leads global human rights efforts speaks out objectively in the face
of human rights violations worldwide
 Provide a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing
responses to today's human rights challenges, and act as the
principal focal point of human rights research, education, public
information, and advocacy activities in the United Nations system
 provides assistance to Governments, such as expertise and
technical trainings in the areas of administration of justice,
legislative reform, and electoral process, to help implement
international human rights standards on the ground
 Ensure that peace and security, development, and human rights
 It provides wide range of partnership with various international
organisation i.e. ILO International Criminal Court, specialized
criminal tribunals etc
  Work on standard-setting, monitoring, and implementation on the
ground.
 Collaborates with Governments, parliaments, judicial authorities,
police and prison officials, National Human Rights Institutions,
NGOs and a broad range of other civil society actors, in addition to
United Nations partners, to build awareness of and respect for
human rights
 UN Human Rights is partially funded from the United Nations
regular budget and partially through voluntary contributions from
donors, the majority of which are Member States. (funding till 16th
Jan. 2019)
Donor Currency Amount
in US$
Denmark DKK 1,524,623
10,000,000
European € 3,412,969
Commission 3,000,000
United CHF 76,948
Kingdom 75,948
United - 200,000
Kingdom

OHCHR in the World: making human rights a reality on the ground

Africa region Middle East and Asia Pacific region Europe and Central Americas region
North Africa region Asia region
Regional Offices
 East  Middle  Pacific  Central  Central
Africa East and  South- Asia America
 Southern North East Asia  Europe  South Ameri
Africa Africa ca
 West
Africa

Regional HR Centres
 Central  Centre
for
 Africa South-
West
Asia and
the Arab
Region

Country/Stand-alone Offices
 Burundi  Mauritani  Cambodia  Colombia
 Chad a  OHCHR  Guatemala
 Guinea  State of (Seoul)  Honduras
 Uganda Palestine  Mexico
*
 Tunisia
 Yemen

Human Rights Components of Peace Missions

 Central  Iraq  Afghanista  Kosovo*  Haiti
African  Libya n *
Republic
 Democrati
c Republic
of the
Congo
 Guinea
Bissau
 Liberia
 Mali
 Somalia
 South
Sudan
 Sudan

Human Rights Advisors

 Kenya  Jordan  Banglades  Belarus  Argentina
 Madagasc h  Republic  Barbados
ar  Malaysia of  Brazil
 Malawi  Papua Moldova  Dominican
 Nigeria New  Russian Republic
 Rwanda Guinea Federatio  Ecuador
 Zimbabwe  Philippine n  Jamaica
s  Serbia  Paraguay
 Sri Lanka  South  Peru
 Timor Caucasus
Leste  The
former
Yugoslav
Republic
of
Macedoni
a
 Human Rights Council
 Is UN body to protect and promote HR throughout the globe
 The UNHRC has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a
regional group basis
 The headquarters of UNHRC is in Geneva, Switzerland.
 The UNHRC was established by the UN General Assembly on March 15,
2006 (by resolution A/RES/60/251) to replace the UN Commission on
Human Rights (UNCHR,) that had been strongly criticised for allowing
countries with poor human rights records to be members.
 The members of the General Assembly elect the members who occupy
the UNHRC's 47 seats. The term of each seat is three years, and no
member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms.
 The UNHRC holds regular sessions three times a year, in March, June,
and September