UN Human Rights Council opens 63rd session in Geneva

The United Nations Human Rights Council is opening its 63rd session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, beginning five weeks of debates, country reviews and negotiations involving the council’s 47 member states.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will present an updated overview of the global human rights situation on the opening day. The session will include 37 interactive dialogues with independent experts and the adoption of dozens of resolutions.

The council’s agenda includes human rights situations in Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan. On September 18, members will discuss a report by independent experts on Belarus. Three further dialogues are scheduled for September 21, covering reports on Russia, Iran and Ukraine.

On September 28, the council will hear the High Commissioner’s report on implementing a resolution concerning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. It will also hold a general debate on Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. Later in the session, participants will discuss Haiti, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Cambodia and Yemen.

Independent experts will address issues ranging from the rights of older people, safe drinking water and sanitation to contemporary slavery, hazardous waste, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. The council will also examine the effects of unilateral sanctions on access to food, medicines and medical care, along with economic, social and cultural rights amid rising inequality, Indigenous rights, gender perspectives, climate financing and reprisals against people cooperating with the United Nations.