STAMFORD UNIVERSTIY BANGLADESH

Assignment on
Commission on Human Rights

Submitted to
Ms. Fowjia Akter
Assistant Professor

Submitted by
Ahammed Jubaer Chowdhury
ID: LMF 075 06213

Date of Submission
30/01/2021
 UN Commission on Human Rights

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was established in 1946 to weave the international legal
fabric that protects our fundamental rights and freedoms. Composed of 53 States members, its brief expanded
over time to allow it to respond to the whole range of human rights problems and it set standards to govern the
conduct of States. It also acted as a forum where countries large and small, non-governmental groups and
human rights defenders from around the world voiced their concerns.

During its regular annual session in Geneva, for which over 3,000 delegates from member and observer States
and from non-governmental organizations participated, the Commission adopted about a hundred resolutions,
decisions and Chairperson's statements on matters of relevance to individuals in all regions and circumstances.
It was assisted in this work by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, a
number of working groups and a network of individual experts, representatives and rapporteurs mandated to
report to it on specific issues.

Constitution: At the time it was extinguished, the Commission consisted of representatives drawn from 53
member states, elected by the members of ECOSOC. There were no permanent members; each year (usually in
May) approximately a third of the seats of the Commission would come up for election, and the representatives
were appointed for a three-year term.
Seats on the Commission were apportioned by region, using the mechanism of the United Nations Regional
Groups. During its last year of service in 2005, the representation by region was as follows:

 15 from the African Group:

Burkina Faso, Republic of the

Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, South
Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Zimbabwe

 12 from the Asian Group:

Bhutan, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of
Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka

 5 from the Eastern European Group:

Armenia, Hungary, Romania, Russian Federation, Ukraine

 11 from the Latin American and Caribbean Group:

Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican

Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru

 10 from the Western European and Others Group:

Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States
The Commission would meet each year in regular session for six weeks during March and April in Geneva,
Switzerland. In January 2004, Australia was elected as chair of the 60th Session. In January
2005, Indonesia was elected chair of the 61st Session. Peru was elected chair of the 62nd Session in January
2006. The Commission held its final meeting in Geneva on March 27, 2006.

Objectives: The mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to ensure
universal enjoyment of all human rights, to remove obstacles to their effective implementation, and to enhance
coordination and cooperation of human rights-related activities throughout the United Nations system. As
human rights are intimately linked with the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS, OHCHR endeavors to contribute
to an effective and sustainable response to the epidemic by raising awareness and understanding of the human
rights dimensions of HIV/AIDS and by strengthening capacities to address HIV/AIDS-related human rights
issues at the national and international levels. In addition, OHCHR has, for several years, worked in close
collaboration with UNAIDS towards the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS.
In 1999, UNAIDS and OHCHR agreed to strengthen their cooperation in order to streamline activities in the
field of HIV/AIDS and human rights. Key objectives of this ongoing collaboration include:
 The integration of HIV/AIDS issues into the work of the United Nations human rights machinery,
 Ensuring the integration of a human rights perspective into the response of other UN agencies and
programmes to the HIV epidemic,
 Strengthening capacity at the national level to address HIV-related human rights issues, and
 Global and regional advocacy.
OHCHR has made progress towards these objectives, in particular by supporting the work of the UN Human
Rights Council and its special rapporteurs, the UN treaty bodies, the universal periodic review, national human
rights institutions, as well as mainstreaming issues within the broader UN system.

Achivement of Commision of Human Rights: Many challenges lie ahead in the struggle to promote and
enhance the dignity, freedom, and rights of all human beings. In the past two decades, however, significant
progress has been made. There have been many milestones: from the establishment and development of a
number of human rights mechanisms, such as the Human Rights Council, to events such as the World
Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, in Durban, South
Africa. Followings are the remarkable achivement of this commision.

1. Economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and the right to development are recognized as
universal, indivisible, and mutually reinforcing rights of all human beings, without distinction. Non-
discrimination and equality have been increasingly reaffirmed as fundamental principles of international
human rights law and essential elements of human dignity.
2. New human rights standards have built on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
implementation of international human rights treaties is significantly improved.
3. Additional explicit protections in international law now exist covering, among others, children, women,
victims of torture, persons with disabilities, and regional institutions. Where there are allegations of
breaches, individuals can bring complaints to the international human rights treaty bodies.
4. Women’s rights are now acknowledged as fundamental human rights. Discrimination and acts of
violence against women are at the forefront of the human rights discourse.
 5. There is global consensus that serious violations of human rights must not go unpunished. Victims have
the right to claim justice, including within processes to restore the rule of law following conflicts. The
International Criminal Court brings perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.
6. There has been a paradigm shift in the recognition of the human rights of people with disabilities,
especially and crucially, their right to effective participation in all spheres of life on an equal basis with
others.
7. There is now an international framework that recognizes the challenges facing migrants and their
families which guarantees their rights and those of undocumented migrants.
8. The rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals have been placed on the international
agenda.
9. The challenges facing indigenous peoples and minorities are increasingly being identified and addressed
by the international human rights mechanisms, especially with respect to their right to non-
discrimination.
10. The Human Rights Council, set up in 2006, has addressed vital and sensitive issues and its Universal
Periodic Review, established in the same year, has allowed countries to assess each other’s human rights
records, make recommendations and provide assistance for improvement.
11. Independent human rights experts and bodies monitor and investigate from a thematic or country-
specific perspective. They cover all rights in all regions, producing hard-hitting public reports that
increase accountability and help fight impunity.
12. States and the United Nations recognize the pivotal role of civil society in the advancement of human
rights. Civil society has been at the forefront of human rights promotion and protection, pinpointing
problems and proposing innovative solutions, pushing for new standards, contributing to public policies,
giving voice to the powerless, building worldwide awareness about rights and freedoms and helping to
build sustainable change on the ground.
13. There is heightened awareness and growing demand by people worldwide for greater transparency and
accountability from government and for the right to participate fully in public life.
14. National human rights institutions have become more independent and authoritative and have a powerful
influence on governance. Over a third of all countries have established one or more such institutions.
15. Victims of trafficking are now regarded as entitled to the full range of human rights and are no longer
perceived to be criminals.

Criticism: The Commission was repeatedly criticized for the composition of its membership. In particular,
several of its member countries themselves had dubious human rights records, including states whose
representatives had been elected to chair the commission. Countries with records of human rights abuses like
torture, extrajudicial killings, political imprisonment, and disappearances likely sought election to the
Commission to project a positive international image. Commission membership also provided some political
shelter from criticism of these abuses.
Another criticism was that the Commission did not engage in constructive discussion of human rights issues,
but was a forum for politically selective finger-pointing and criticism. The desire of states with problematic
human rights records to be elected to the Commission was viewed largely as a way to defend themselves from
such attacks.
Activist groups had long expressed concern over the memberships of the People's Republic of
China, Zimbabwe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and the past memberships
of Algeria, Syria, Libya, Uganda and Vietnam on the Commission. These countries had extensive records of
human rights violations, and one concern was that by working against resolutions on the commission
condemning human rights violations, they indirectly promoted despotism and domestic repression.
On May 4, 2004, United States ambassador Sichuan Siv walked out of the Commission following the
uncontested election of Sudan to the commission, calling it an "absurdity" in light of Sudan's ethnic cleansing in
the Darfur region. One major consequence of the election of Sudan to the Commission was the lack of
willingness for some countries to work through the commission. For example, July 30, 2004, it was the United
Nations Security Council, not the Commission, that passed a resolution—by 13–0, with China and Pakistan
abstaining—threatening Sudan with unspecified sanctions if the situation in the Darfur region did not improve
within the following 30 days. The reasons given for the action were the attacks by the Janjaweed Arab militias
of Sudan on the non-Arab African Muslim population of Darfur, a region in western Sudan.
The commission had also come under repeated criticism from the United States for its unwillingness to address
other human rights concerns. In 2001, the United States was voted off the commission by the other member
states, many of whom have been criticized for their human rights violations, and in 2003 Syria put forward a
proposal to discuss US war crimes in Iraq. But journalist Anne Applebee wrote, "the European Union and the
United States aren't exempt
from blame, either", citing their hesitance in voting to criticize Russian actions in Chechnya.