HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS MAIN ANNUAL SESSION FROM 2 TO 27 MARCH

The Human Rights Council will hold its tenth regular session from 2 to 27 March 2009 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session will start off with a high-level segment from 2 to 4 March when dozens of senior dignitaries will address the Council on their countries’ efforts to promote and protect human rights. The meeting will be held in the new Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room.

Following the high-level segment the Council will hold an interactive dialogue with Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, after she presents the annual report of the activities of her Office.

During the session, the Council will hear reports presented by independent human rights experts on arbitrary detentions; on the use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples self-determination; on the right to food; on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation; on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism; on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; on enforced or involuntary disappearances; on freedom of religion or belief; on minority issues; on the situation of human rights defenders; on the human rights of internally displaced persons; on trafficking in persons especially women and children; and on people of African descent.

Mandate holders on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea will present their reports. After the presentation of each report, an interactive dialogue will be held with the participation of Member States of the Council, observer States and non-governmental organizations. The situation of human rights in Somalia and technical cooperation and advisory services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be taken up under the agenda item on technical assistance and capacity-building.

Also during the session, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide will engage with the Council in a general debate. In addition, general debates will be held relating to indigenous peoples rights, minorities issues, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the Durban Review Conference.

Other events, which the Council will undertake, include a panel on the right to food, an annual day on the rights of the child, an annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities, follow-up to the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, the Social Forum and follow-up to the Council’s Special Sessions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in particular the Gaza Strip.

The Council will consider the final outcome of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Botswana, the Bahamas, Burundi, Luxembourg, Barbados, Montenegro, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Colombia, Uzbekistan and Tuvalu, whose human rights records were reviewed during the third session of the UPR Working Group in December.


Also during the session, the Council will discuss in private the report of the Working Group on Situations of its Complaint Procedure, appoint a new Special Procedure mandate holder on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, and elect four new members of the Council’s Advisory Committee.

For more detailed information about the work of the Council at this session, including with regards to documentation, please refer to the annotated agenda of the session A/HRC/7/1/Add.2 as well as the Human Rights Council website http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/.

Composition of the Council

The Council is made up of the following 47 Member States. The mandates conclude on 18 June of the year indicated between parentheses. The Member States are:

Angola (2010), Argentina (2011), Azerbaijan (2009), Bahrain (2011), Bangladesh (2009), Bolivia (2010), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010), Brazil (2011), Burkina Faso (2011), Cameroon (2009), Canada (2009), Chile (2011), China (2009), Cuba (2009), Djibouti (2009), Egypt (2010), France (2011), Gabon (2011), Germany (2009), Ghana (2011), India (2010), Indonesia (2010), Italy (2010), Japan (2011), Jordan (2009), Madagascar (2010), Malaysia (2009), Mauritius (2009), Mexico (2009), Netherlands (2010), Nicaragua (2010), Nigeria (2009), Pakistan (2011), Philippines (2010), Qatar (2010), Republic of Korea (2011), Russian Federation (2009), Saudi Arabia (2009), Senegal (2009), Slovakia (2011), Slovenia (2010), South Africa (2010), Switzerland (2009), Ukraine (2011), United Kingdom (2011), Uruguay (2009), and Zambia (2011).

The President of the Council is Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi (Nigeria). The Vice Presidents are Erlinda F. Basilio (Philippines); Alberto J. Dumont (Argentina); and Marius Grinius (Canada). Elchin Amirbayov (Azerbaijan) is also a Vice President and the Rapporteur.

For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC09012E