II. THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FORMATION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Commission on Human Rights, established in 1946, is the world’s supreme human rights authority and the principal governmental body responsible for human rights policymaking within the UN. The Commission’s first duty was to draft the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a watershed in human rights history and represents the Commission’s greatest achievement. The Commission protects and promotes human rights by investigating human rights violations, setting new human rights standards in the form of declarations or treaties, providing support and consultation services to countries in need of assistance in the protection of human rights, and suggesting programs and policies in the field.

The Commission was established with eighteen member states, after which membership gradually increased to its current fifty-three member states. Members are elected for a three-year period based on the following geographical distribution: sixteen countries from Africa, twelve from Asia, five from Eastern Europe, eleven from Latin America and the Caribbean, and ten from Western Europe and other countries. Egypt currently occupies a seat from the African group for a term of membership which began in 2004.

The Commission on Human Rights holds an annual meeting in Geneva for a period of six weeks beginning in mid-March and ending in April. This meeting is the largest annual meeting of small and large nations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and human rights defenders from every continent of the world. Over the course of the six weeks, some 3,000 people participate in this meeting. The Commission discusses the human rights situation throughout the world and studies the information it receives from states, NGOs and other sources.

During its regular meeting, the Commission issues up to one hundred resolutions and a report that can include, amongst other things, an invitation to the government in question to take concrete action to address human rights concerns. The report can also announce the establishment of a working group, the drafting of a new agreement or international document, or the appointment of a Rapporteur to study a given issue or country. The name ‘special procedures’ is given to the network of Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, Special Representatives and expert Working Groups appointed by the Commission in their personal capacity to assist the Commission in its functions throughout the year on a volunteer, part-time basis, through the study of a particular country or thematic issue.

Any member state of the UN can present a draft resolution to the Commission under any of the items on its annual agenda, provided that the draft resolution is sponsored by at least one of the Commission’s member states. All UN member states and those with observer status may sponsor proposed resolutions. However, the right to vote on these resolutions is limited to member states inside the Commission. Resolutions are generally passed unanimously without voting; however, any of the states inside the Commission can request that the draft resolution be put to the vote.

The current items on the Commission’s annual agenda include the following:
• the right to self-determination;
• the right to development;
• human rights violations in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine;
• violations against human rights and basic freedoms anywhere in the world;
• economic, social and cultural rights;
• civil and political rights, including questions of torture and detention;
• disappearances and summary executions;
• freedom of expression;
• independence of the judiciary;
• impunity;
• absence of religious tolerance;
• the human rights of women, children, migrant workers, minorities and migrants;
• the rights of indigenous peoples;
• the promotion and protection of human rights, including the activities of the Sub-Commission, treaty bodies, and national institutions; and
• advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights.

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See, for example, International Commission of Jurists, “What is the Commission on Human Rights” or Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Commission on Human Rights – Background Information”