UN Human Rights Council opens 63rd session in Geneva

The UN Human Rights Council opens its 63rd session on Sept. 7 at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, beginning five weeks of reviews, interactive dialogues and negotiations on dozens of resolutions.

The council’s 47 member states will examine human rights conditions in countries around the world and hold 37 interactive dialogues with independent experts. On the first day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will present an updated report on the global situation.

Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan will be among the crises at the center of attention. On Sept. 18, the council will discuss a report by an independent group of experts on human rights in Belarus, as well as conditions in several other countries.

Three further dialogues are scheduled for Sept. 21. They will address the human rights situation in Russia, an independent international fact-finding mission on Iran, and an independent international commission investigating violations in Ukraine.

On Sept. 28, the council will hear the High Commissioner’s report on implementation of a resolution concerning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan. A general discussion on human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories is also planned that day.

During the fourth week, participants will discuss Haiti, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Cambodia and Yemen. Independent experts appointed by the council will raise issues including older people’s rights, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, modern forms of slavery, hazardous waste, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, the rights of farmers and rural residents, mercenaries and private military companies.

The council will also discuss the impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights. The session will consider how sanctions imposed by some states outside the UN framework affect access to food, medicines and medical care. Other thematic discussions will cover economic, social and cultural rights amid rising inequality, indigenous rights and gender considerations in the council’s work. Reports will address climate-finance resources and alleged reprisals against people who cooperate with the UN.