HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONCLUDES NINETEENTH SESSION

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee today concluded its nineteenth session, which was held from 7 to 11 August at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

At the closing meeting, the Advisory Committee, a body of 18 independent experts serving as a think-tank to the United Nations Human Rights Council, adopted recommendations on two thematic issues currently under its consideration: the activities of vulture funds and the impact on human rights (Human Rights Council resolution 34/3), and the non-repatriation of illicit funds (Human Rights Council resolution 34/11).

The Committee discussed the activities of vulture funds and their impact on human rights in follow up to its progress report on the topic (A/HRC/33/54); established a drafting group for the preparation of the final report to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session; and made a recommendation to the Council to extend the time to submit its final report to its fortieth session in order to allow for a better informed work on the matter.

Concerning the impact of the flow of funds of illicit origin and the non-repatriation thereof to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the preparation of the study under the Human Rights Council resolution 34/11 on, inter alia, the possibility of utilizing non-repatriated illicit funds, with a view to supporting the achievement of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Advisory Committee recommended that the Human Rights Council extend the time to submit the study from the thirty-ninth to the forty-second session of the Council.

During the session, the Committee continued its discussions on thematic studies requested by the Council, including on the elimination of discrimination against persons with leprosy and their family members (Human Rights Council resolution 29/5); unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents (Human Rights Council resolutions 29/12 and 33/7); national policies and human rights in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (Human Rights Council resolution 35/32); contribution of development to the enjoyment of human rights (Human Rights Council resolution 35/21); effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights (Human Rights Council resolution 34/8); and regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights (Human Rights Council decision 32/115).

With regard to the elimination of discrimination against persons with leprosy and their family members, the Advisory Committee took note of the final report on the implementation of the Principles and Guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy, submitted to the Council at its thirty-fifth session.

On the issue of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents, the Committee took note of the final report (A/HRC/36/51) on the research-based study on the global issue of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights, submitted for consideration by the Human Rights Council at its thirty-sixth session.

Concerning the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights, the Committee established the drafting group for the preparation of the report; requested it to transmit a note verbale to all stakeholders for further input in the subject matter; and also requested it to present the first draft of the report at the Committee’s twentieth session.

On the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, the Advisory Committee established the drafting group for the preparation of the report on the ways in which development contributes to the enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, and decided to circulate three separate questionnaires for States and national human rights institutions, for non-governmental organizations, and for international organizations and United Nations agencies. The Committee also agreed on the substance of the structure of the report, to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session in June 2019.

With regard to the study on national policies and human rights in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Advisory Committee established the drafting group for the preparation of the report and requested it to present a preliminary outline of the report at the Committee’s twentieth session, with a view to submitting it to the Human Rights Council for adoption at the Council’s forty-fifth session.

Finally, regarding regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Advisory Committee took note of the draft progress report on regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights submitted by the drafting group at its current session; and requested the drafting group to submit a draft progress report to the Advisory Committee at its twentieth session, with a view to submitting a final report to the Council at its thirty-ninth session.

In his welcoming remarks at the beginning of the session, on 7 August, Amr Ahmad Ramadan, Vice President of the Human Rights Council, was pleased to note that the Council had mandated four new studies to be carried by the Committee, including on the negative effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights and on the ways in which development contributed to the enjoyment of all human rights by all, among others. In closing, Mr. Ramadan acknowledged the valuable contributions of three outgoing members of the Committee - Laurence Boisson de Chazournes of France, Anatonia Reyes Prado of Guatemala and Ahmer Bilal Soofi of Pakistan - and wished them all the best in their future endeavours in the promotion of human rights.

In his address to the Advisory Committee, Eric Tistounet, Chief of the Human Rights Council Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, was pleased to announce that the Office had adopted a new strategic outlook for the period 2018-2021. It framed the work of the Office in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with particular emphasis on “leaving no one behind”. In all its work, the Office would pay specific attention to impact on human rights of women, young people and people living with disability; and work together to achieve a significant shift in the areas of prevention of conflict, violence and insecurity and in building a global constituency for human rights and protecting and expanding the civic space. Finally, the Office would also deliver on human rights in the context of the so-called “frontier issues”, such as corruption, digital space, inequality including economic inequality, and people on the move and climate instability. In this context, the contribution of the Advisory Committee would be much welcomed, concluded Mr. Tistounet.

The Advisory Committee adopted the report of the session. Documentation relating to the nineteenth session can be found on the session’s webpage.

The twentieth session of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 19 to 23 February 2018.

Background

The Advisory Committee is a body of 18 independent experts serving as a think-tank to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). It was established in 2008, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, to provide studies and research-based advice, as requested by the Council, and meets twice annually. The Committee’s work is implementation-oriented and follows thematic issues linked to the mandate of the Council, namely, the promotion and protection of all human rights. It interacts with States, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and other civil society bodies.


Membership

The membership of the Advisory Committee conforms to the following geographical distribution guidelines set out in its establishing resolution: five members each from African and Asian States; three each from Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and other States; and two members from Eastern European States.

Following is the list of members of the Advisory Committee and expiration dates for their respective terms of office:

Ibrahim Abdulaziz Alsheddi (Saudi Arabia, 2018); Mohamed Bennani (Morocco, 2017); Laurence Boisson de Chazournes (France, 2017); Lazhari Bouzid (Algeria, 2019); Mario Luis Coriolano (Argentina, 2018); Ion Diaconu (Romania, 2017); Carla Hananía de Varela (El Salvador, 2019); Mikhail Lebedev (Russian Federation, 2019); Xinsheng Liu (China, 2019); Kaoru Obata (Japan, 2019);Mona Omar (Egypt, 2019); Katharina Pabel (Austria, 2018); Anatonia Reyes Prado (Guatemala, 2017); Changrok Soh (Republic of Korea, 2017); Ahmer Bilal Soofi (Pakistan, 2017); Imeru Tamrat Yigezu (Ethiopia, 2018); and Jean Ziegler (Switzerland, 2019).



For use of the information media; not an official record

AC17/004E