Annual meeting of the Special Procedures

Jun 11, 2012 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions

The ICJ, together with other NGOs, submitted four documents and oral statements to the 19th Annual Meeting of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

From 11 to 15 June 2012, the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council will undertake its 19th Annual Meeting. On behalf of 22 non-governmental organisations, the ICJ addressed an open letter dated 1 June 2012 to the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures. Building on a Joint Statement produced following the 18th Annual Meeting in 2011, the letter welcomes some positive developments and initiatives, and provides comments or suggestions for improvement on the following topics:

1. the communications reports of the Special Procedures;
2. the handling of urgent appeals and individual communications;
3. non-cooperation by States;
4. reprisals against persons who cooperate with the UN;
5. the OHCHR compilation of UN information for the Universal Periodic Review;
6. NGO briefings conducted in the margins of Human Rights Council sessions; and
7. the Special Procedures “facts and figures”.

In an oral statement during the Annual Meeting, the ICJ also drew attention to the recently elaborated Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.