The Universal Periodic Review Mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council
LATEST NEWS ON UPR: The 12th session of the UPR Working Group will take place on 3-14 October 2011. See list of countries for review.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism is an instrument for reviewing the fulfillment by every UN member state of its human rights obligations and commitments. The UPR mechanism started to function in 2008, which also marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and "other relevant stakeholders" can participate in the UPR process in various ways, including by submitting "credible and reliable information" in writing. Submissions received from NGOs and others are summarized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and compiled in an official 10-page UN document. This summary is one of the three documents on which the review of each country is based (the other two documents being the state's own report, and a compilation of recent recommendations by other UN human rights mechanisms).
Links
- Official UPR website [external site]
- Information note on UPR for NGOs and 'other relevant stakeholders' [external site]
- UPR-Info. [external site]
- How can NGOs engage with the UPR?, International Service for Human Rights [external website]
UPR Procedure
The UPR Working Group (which consists of the same Member States as the Human Rights Council itself) meets three times each year - in February, May and November/December - to review 16 states each session.
Forthcoming sessions:
| 12th session: Oct 2011 | |
| Submissions closed | |
| 1 | Swaziland |
| 2 | Togo |
| 3 | Uganda |
| 4 | Tanzania |
| 5 | Zimbabwe |
| 6 | Syrian Arab Republic |
| 7 | Tajikistan |
| 8 | Thailand |
| 9 | Timor Leste |
| 10 | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 11 | Venezuela |
| 12 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| 13 | Iceland |
| 14 | Ireland |
| 15 | Lithuania |
| 16 | Moldova |
For the full calendar for the first cycle (2008-2011) of the UPR mechanism, click here.
In addition to the 47 members of the Human Rights Council, any UN Member State can take part in the discussion/dialogue with the reviewed States. Each State review is assisted by groups of three States, known as “troikas”, who serve as rapporteurs. The selection of the troikas for each State review is done through a drawing of lots prior for each Working Group session.
Following the State review by the UPR Working Group an 'outcome report' is prepared by the troika with the involvement of the State under review and assistance from the OHCHR. This report provides a summary of the actual discussion, and consists of the questions, comments and recommendations made by States to the country under review, as well as the responses by the reviewed State.
During the Working Group session half an hour is allocated to adopt each of the 'outcome reports' for the States reviewed that session. The reviewed State has the opportunity to make preliminary comments on the recommendations choosing to either accept or reject them. Both accepted and refused recommendations are included in the report. The report then has to be adopted at a plenary session of the Human Rights Council. During the plenary session, the women State under review can reply to questions and issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the Working Group and respond to recommendations that were raised by States during the review. Time is also allotted to member and observer States who may wish to express their opinion on the outcome of the review and for NGOs and other stakeholders to make general comments.
NGO submissions for the summary of other stakeholders' information
According to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1, "Additional, credible and reliable information provided by other relevant stakeholders to the universal periodic review… should also be taken into consideration by the Council in the review. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will prepare a summary of such information which shall not exceed 10 pages".
The page limit for submissions is 5 pages when submitted by individual stakeholders, and 10 pages when submitted by large coalitions of stakeholders.
Deadlines
Submissions on the countries to be reviewed at forthcoming sessions of the UPR Working Group should be sent to gro.rhcho|snoissimbusrpu#gro.rhcho|snoissimbusrpu by 12.00 noon Geneva time (CET) on the deadline dates indicated below:.
12th session (October 2011):
- 14 March 2011 for submissions on Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand
- 21 March 2011 for submissions on Timor Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Moldova.
Past sessions
| 1st session: 7-18 April 2008 | 2nd session: 5-16 May 2008 | 3rd session: 1-15 Dec 2008 | |
| 1 | Bahrain | Gabon | Botswana |
| 2 | Ecuador | Ghana | Bahamas |
| 3 | Tunisia | Peru | Burundi |
| 4 | Morocco | Guatemala | Luxembourg |
| 5 | Indonesia | Benin | Barbados |
| 6 | Finland | Republic of Korea | Montenegro |
| 7 | United Kingdom | Switzerland | United Arab Emirates |
| 8 | India | Pakistan | Israel |
| 9 | Brazil | Zambia | Liechtenstein |
| 10 | Philippines | Japan | Serbia |
| 11 | Algeria | Ukraine | Turkmenistan |
| 12 | Poland | Sri Lanka | Burkina Faso |
| 13 | Netherlands | France | Cape Verde |
| 14 | South Africa | Tonga | Colombia |
| 15 | Czech Republic | Romania | Uzbekistan |
| 16 | Argentina | Mali | Tuvalu |
| 4th session: 2-13 February 2009 | 5th session: 4-15 May 2009 | 6th session: 30 Nov - 11 Dec 2009 | |
| 1 | Cameroon | Central African Republic | Cote d'Ivoire |
| 2 | Djibouti | Chad | Dem. Rep. of the Congo |
| 3 | Mauritius | Comoros | Equatorial Guinea |
| 4 | Nigeria | Congo | Eritrea |
| 5 | Senegal | Vanuatu | Ethiopia |
| 6 | Bangladesh | Vietnam | Bhutan |
| 7 | China | Yemen | Brunei Darussalam |
| 8 | Jordan | Afghanistan | Cambodia |
| 9 | Malaysia | Uruguay | Cyprus |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | Belize | Dem. People's Rep. of Korea |
| 11 | Cuba | Chile | Costa Rica |
| 12 | Mexico | Malta | Dominica |
| 13 | Canada | Monaco | Dominican Republic |
| 14 | Germany | New Zealand | Norway |
| 15 | Russian Federation | Slovakia | Portugal |
| 16 | Azerbaijan | FYR Macedonia | Albania |
| 7th Session: 8-19 February 2010 | 8th session: 3-14 May 2010 | 9th session: 1-12 Nov 2010 | |
| 1 | Angola | Guinea | Liberia |
| 2 | Egypt | Guinea-Bissau | Malawi |
| 3 | Madagascar | Kenya | Mongolia |
| 4 | Gambia | Lesotho | Panama |
| 5 | Qatar | Kiribati | Maldives |
| 6 | Fiji | Kuwait | Andorra |
| 7 | Iran | Kyrgyzstan | Bulgaria |
| 8 | Iraq | Laos | Honduras |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | Grenada | United States of America |
| 10 | Bolivia | Guyana | Marshall Islands |
| 11 | Nicaragua | Haiti | Croatia |
| 12 | El Salvador | Spain | Jamaica |
| 13 | Italy | Sweden | Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
| 14 | San Marino | Turkey | Micronesia |
| 15 | Slovenia | Armenia | Lebanon |
| 16 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Belarus | Mauritania |
| 10th session: Feb 2011 | 11th session: May 2011 | ||
| 1 | Mozambique | Seychelles | |
| 2 | Namibia | Sierra Leone | |
| 3 | Niger | Somalia | |
| 4 | Rwanda | Sudan | |
| 5 | Sao Tome and Principe | Palau | |
| 6 | Myanmar | Papua New Guinea | |
| 7 | Nauru | Samoa | |
| 8 | Nepal | Singapore | |
| 9 | Oman | Solomon Islands | |
| 10 | Paraguay | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| 11 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Suriname | |
| 12 | Saint Lucia | Belgium | |
| 13 | Australia | Denmark | |
| 14 | Austria | Greece | |
| 15 | Estonia | Hungary | |
| 16 | Georgia | Latvia |
Background information on NGO participation in the UPR
According to HRC Resolution 5/1, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders can formally participate in the UPR process in the following ways:
- Contributing to the preparation of the material on which the review will be based, including by:
- monitoring the preparation of material by the State concerned, which should take the form of a national report not exceeding 20 pages, and by engaging in the national consultation process that HRC Resolution 5/1 recommends;
- providing any additional, credible and reliable information to the OHCHR, for inclusion in the summary of information received from other relevant stakeholders.
- NGOs and other relevant stakeholders can attend the reviews (which take the form of interactive dialogues with the State concerned) in the UPR Working Group sessions.
- NGOs and other relevant stakeholders have the opportunity to make general comments before the adoption of the outcome by the Plenary of the Human Rights Council.
- As appropriate, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders may contribute to the implementation of the outcome of the review.
Informally, NGOs have opportunities to create additional spaces for interaction with the State concerned, Member States and non-Member States of the Human Rights Council, Rapporteurs, etc.
