United Nations Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council of the United Nations, which has replaced the Commission on Human Rights, started work in June 2006. It is based in Geneva, and counts 47 members. The Commission on Human Rights had come under strong criticism on account of the excessive selectivity and polarisation that marked its activities. As a result, it lost considerable credibility, and its capacity to act was increasingly called into question.

The creation of the Human Rights Council is an important milestone in the history of the UN and is considered to be a major success for Swiss foreign policy. The idea of a Human Rights Council was first floated by Switzerland, which also played a very active part in its creation. The fact that the Human Rights Council is based in Geneva further strengthens the international character of the city and its role as the world centre of human rights.

The Council’s mandate is to promote and protect human rights. It aims to overcome the shortcomings of the Commission and to be a forum where confrontation is replaced by mutual respect and understanding as well as dialogue between all players concerned. The following facts and figures describe the Council’s specific function, characteristics and status:

• It reports directly to the United Nations General Assembly.
• It holds at least three sessions a year for a total duration of a minimum of ten weeks. Extraordinary sessions may be convened at the request of at least a third of its members.
• Its 47 members are elected by an absolute majority of the General Assembly for a three-year period, which is non-renewable after two consecutive terms.
• Candidates for a seat on the Council are required to make voluntary commitments concerning human rights.
• It is equipped with a mechanism for reviewing the human rights situation in all the United Nations member states as well as for examining the degree of implementation of the human rights commitments they have made.
• The General Assembly can, with a two-thirds majority, suspend a member of the Council which has committed flagrant and systematic human rights violations.

The institutional consolidation of the Human Rights Council was completed in 2007, so that it can now concentrate on its mandate. It will have to fully implement innovations such as the universal periodic review, which has to be carried out by all States. It also has to strengthen technical support capacities, to promote human rights education and training and to ensure better compliance with human rights throughout the world. As an active member of the UN, Switzerland strongly supports the work of the Human Rights Council.

Switzerland will pursue its commitment for a strong and fair Human Rights Council that is able to promote and protect human rights effectively. For this reason, its presents its candidature for a second term on the Council in the 2010-2013 period.