WOMEN'S UN REPORT NETWORK - WUNRN® 

 UN UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW (UPR) & VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

   United Nations Human Rights Council

May 30, 2013Geneva, Switzerland

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Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by October 2011, has reviewed the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.

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The UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of States/Countries Is an Important Mechanism/Opportunity for NGO's to Review Gender Components of Individual Country UPR Reports on Human Rights. The Final Reports of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group May Contain Gender-Focused Text that Can Be Very Useful in NGO Advocacy, as for the Human Rights of Women and Girls. "The issue of violence against women was by far the most prominent one on recommendations made by countries on women's rights.......Within violence, the issue that received the more attention was domestic violence...which was followed by Female Genital Mutilation and rape, and also sexual violence."

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Universal Periodic ReviewDocumentation Information prepared by the State concerned, which can take the form of a national report, and any other information considered relevant by the State concerned, which could be presented either orally or in writing.

Information contained in the reports of treaty bodies, special procedures, including observations and comments by the State concerned, and other relevant official United Nations documents, compiled in a report prepared by the OHCHR.

Information provided by “other relevant stakeholders” to the universal periodic review, which will be summarized by the OHCHR in a document. Stakeholders include, inter alia, NGOs, NHRIs, Human rights defenders, Academic institutions and Research institutes, Regional organizations, as well as civil society representatives.  

The national report shall be prepared on the basis of general guidelines adopted by the Council at its sixth session on 27 September 2007. The documents prepared by the OHCHR should be elaborated following the structure of these general guidelines.

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Basic Facts About the UPRWhat is the Universal Periodic Review?The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. The UPR is a significant innovation of the Human Rights Council which is based on equal treatment for all countries.

How was the UPR established?The UPR was established when the Human Rights Council was created on 15 March 2006 by the UN General Assembly in resolution 60/251. This mandated the Council to "undertake a universal periodic review, based on objective and reliable information, of the fulfilment by each State of its human rights obligations and commitments in a manner which ensures universality of coverage and equal treatment with respect to all States”. On 18 June 2007, one year after its first meeting, members of the new Council agreed to its institution-building package (A/HRC/RES/5/1) providing a road map guiding the future work of the Council. One of the key elements of this package was the new Universal Periodic Review.

What is the goal of the UPR?The ultimate goal of UPR is the improvement of the human rights situation in every country with significant consequences for people around the globe. The UPR is designed to prompt, support, and expand the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground. To achieve this, the UPR involves assessing States’ human rights records and addressing human rights violations wherever they occur.

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How are the reviews conducted?Reviews take place through an interactive discussion between the State under review and other UN Member States. This takes place during a meeting of the UPR Working Group. During this discussion any UN Member State can pose questions, comments and/or make recommendations to the States under review.

Can non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participate in the UPR process?Yes. NGOs can submit information which can be added to the “other stakeholders” report which is considered during the review.

What human rights obligations are addressed?The UPR will assess the extent to which States respect their human rights obligations set out in: (1) the UN Charter; (2) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (3) human rights instruments to which the State is party (human rights treaties ratified by the State concerned); (4) voluntary pledges and commitments made by the State (e.g. national human rights policies and/or programmes implemented); and, (5) applicable international humanitarian law.

What is the outcome of the review?Following the review by the Working Group, a report is prepared by the troika with the involvement of the State under review and assistance from the OHCHR. This report, referred to as the “outcome report”, provides a summary of the actual discussion.

How is the review adopted?During the Working Group session half an hour is allocated to adopt each of the “outcome reports” for the States reviewed that session. These take place no sooner than 48 hours after the country review. The reviewed State has the opportunity to make preliminary comments on the recommendations choosing to either accept or note them. Both accepted and noted recommendations are included in the report.

What steps are taken as follow up to the review?The State has the primary responsibility to implement the recommendations contained in the final outcome. The UPR ensures that all countries are accountable for progress or failure in implementing these recommendations.

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Contributions & Participation of "other stakeholders" in the UPR

Through the Universal Periodic Review, the Human Rights Council will review, on a periodic basis, the fulfillment by each of the 193 United Nations Member States of their human rights obligations and commitments.

A review of a State is based on a national report prepared by the State under review; a compilation of United Nations information on the State under review prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); and a summary of information submitted by other stakeholders (including civil society actors), also prepared by OHCHR.

The review itself takes place in Geneva in a session of the Working Group on the UPR, which is composed of the 47 member States of the Human Rights Council. The review takes the form of an interactive dialogue between the State under review and the member and observer States of the Council. At the end of each review, the Working Group adopts an outcome document, which is subsequently considered and adopted by the Human Rights Council at a later session.

Contributions to UPR documentation by “Other Stakeholders”, including civil society and national human rights institutions

The UPR process provides for the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs). Civil society actors and NHRIs can submit information which can be added to the “other stakeholders” report which is considered during the review. Information they provide can be referred to by any of the States taking part in the interactive discussion during the review at the Working Group meeting. NGOs can attend the UPR Working Group sessions and can make statements at the regular session of the Human Rights Council when the outcome of the State reviews are considered.

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18th session (Jan/Feb, 2014) - dates to be confirmed

17 June 2013 *date confirmed New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Viet Nam, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu

24 June 2013 *date confirmed The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Comoros, Slovakia, Eritrea, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Cambodia

19th session (May/June, 2014) - dates to be confirmed

1 September 2013 *date confirmed

Norway, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar, Nicaragua

20th session (October/November, 2014) - dates to be confirmed

1 February 2014 *date confirmed

Italy, El Salvador, Gambia, Bolivia, Fiji, San Marino, Kazakhstan, Angola, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Madagascar, Iraq, Slovenia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

UPR Working Group sessions Tentative deadlines for “Other

Stakeholders”1(and UN entities) to submit written contributions

Countries

 

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Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (Second Cycle)

13th session

(21 May – 4 June 2012)

14th session

(22 Oct-5 Nov 2012)

15th session

(21 Jan- 1 Feb 2013)

16th session

(22 Apr-3 May 2013)

17th session

(21 Oct- 1 Nov

2013)

18th session

(Jan-Feb 2014)

19th session (Apr-May 2014)

20th session (Oct-Nov

2014)

21st session

(Jan-Feb 2015)

22nd session (Apr-May 2015)

23rd session (Oct-Nov

2015)

24th session

(Jan-Feb 2016)

25th session (Apr-May) 2016)

26th session

(Oct-Nov 2016)

National report deadline

5 March 2012

23 July 2012

22 Oct 2012

21 Jan 2013

22 July 2013

28 Oct 2013

(tentative)

20 Jan 2014

(tentative)

21 July 2014

(tentative)

27 Oct 2014

(tentative)

19 Jan 2015

(tentative)

20 July 2015

(tentative)

26 Oct 2015

(tentative)

25 Jan 2016

(tentative)

25 July 2016

(tentative)

1 Bahrain France Turkmenistan

Saudi Arabia

Italy Belarus Micronesia

Namibia

2 Ecuador Tonga Burkina Faso

Senegal El Salvador

Liberia Lebanon

Niger

3 Tunisia Romania Cape Verde

China Gambia Malawi Mauritania

Mozambique

( of)

4 Morocco Mali ColombiaNigeria Bolivia Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Mongolia

Nauru Estonia

5 Indonesia Botswana Mexico Fiji Panama Rwanda Paraguay

6 Finland Bahamas Mauritius

Maldives

Nepal Belgium

7 Burundi Jordan Saint Lucia

Denmark

8 Luxembourg

Malaysia

The Democratic People’s Republic of

Oman Palau Leste

 

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WUNRNhttp://www.wunrn.com http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/PKSession2.aspx REPORT OF THE UN WORKING GROUP ON THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF THE PAKISTAN REPORT - GENDER EXCERPTS CONCLUSIONS &/OR RECOMMENDATIONS *To maintain Pakistan's commitment to overcome barriers associated with deep-rooted tribal and traditional mindsets with regards to women's rights, that further measures be adopted to overcome stereotypes and to reinforce the implementation of constitutional and legal guarantees with a view to ensuring that all human rights of women are safeguarded throughout Pakistan's territory, and to ensure punishment for perpetrators of all violence against women and also thoroughly investigate and punish members and leaders of illegal jirgas for their calls to violence against women. *Continue with appropriate measures to eradicate discrimination and violence against women, including domestic violence and to strengthen existing measures to thoroughly investigate crimes related to violence against women. *To put an end to inequalities between men and women, including with respect to access to property. *To do everything possible to prevent early and forced marriage and to recognize in its legislation, rape within marriage, and take measures to provide redress for crimes of honour killings, acid attacks, and forced marriages.

 Welcome to UPR Info’s Website

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a new and unique mechanism of the United Nations which started in April 2008 and consists of the review of the human rights practices of all States in the world, once every four years and a half.

You will find on this website useful information on the UPR: States reports; OHCHR summaries and compilations; NGOs submissions; reports of the Working Group; a database of recommendations; the webcast of each review; videos; tutorials and detailed explanations on how to engage in the process:

— > if you are a State, click here.— > if you are a NGO, click here.

 Detailed explanations of the Universal Periodic Review process: click here

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UPR - Database & Statistics of UPR Review Recommendationshttp://www.upr-info.org/database/statistics/ The Top 5 Issues Raised Are:1. International instruments (4231)2. Women's rights (3692)3. Rights of the Child (3442)4. Torture and other CID treatment (1743)5. Justice (1563) http://www.upr-info.org/-Women-s-rights-.html WOMEN'S RIGHTS Analysis of the Women’s rights issue looking into how it has been raised at the UPR by analysing both advance questions and recommendations:. Sessions 1-8: Full analysis: E Sub-issues: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: E Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: E Discrimination against women: E Violence against women: E

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