Human Rights Council to Hold its Fifty-Fifth Regular Session from 26 February to 5 April 2024
The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold its fifty-fifth regular session from 26 February to 5 April 2024 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, starting with its high-level segment from 26 February to 28 February, when dignitaries representing more than 110 Member States will address the Council.
The session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 26 February under the presidency of Ambassador Omar Zniber of Morocco. Delivering statements at the opening will be the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Dennis Francis; the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk; as well as the Chief of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis. The Council will be meeting in room XX of the Palais des Nations.
On Monday, 4 March, the Council is scheduled to hear an oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of his office and recent human rights developments around the world. The general debate on his oral update will be held following his presentation of a number of country-specific reports and updates.
During the session, the Council will hold 37 interactive dialogues with the High Commissioner, his Office and designated experts, with Special Procedures mandate holders and investigative mechanisms, and with Special Representatives of the Secretary-General. The Council will also hold three enhanced interactive dialogues and one high-level dialogue, as well as nine general debates.
The Council will also hold the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming; a panel discussion on countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence; a panel discussion on challenges and good practices to realise the right to social security and to provide quality public services; the annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities; the annual full day meeting on the rights of the child; and a panel discussion on the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 States will also be considered, namely those of Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Tuvalu, Germany, Djibouti, Canada, Bangladesh, the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Cuba.
Towards the end of the session, the Council will appoint 14 mandate holders of Special Procedures and expert mechanisms.
A detailed agenda and further information on the fifty-fifth session can be found on the session’s webpage. Reports to be presented are available here.
First Week of the Session
The fifty-fifth regular session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 26 February with a short opening meeting, followed by the start of the high-level segment, which will continue through 28 February, and during which the Council will hear addresses by more than 110 dignitaries. This will be followed by the general segment. On the afternoon of Wednesday, 28 February, the Council will hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. On Thursday, 29 February, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice. This will be followed by an interactive dialogue on the report of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, and an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. On Friday, 1 March, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s oral update on Myanmar, an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, and an enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Sudan with the participation of his designated expert on the human rights situation in the country.
Second Week of the Session
At the beginning of the second week, on the morning of Monday, 6 March, the Council will hear an oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on recent human rights developments around the world, followed by a presentation of reports on activities of his Office in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, and by the presentation of other reports and updates, including on Cyprus, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. The Council will then begin the general debate under agenda item two, namely the annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, which will conclude on Tuesday, 5 March. The Council will hold separate interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and with the Special Rapporteur on housing for the rest of the day on Tuesday.
On the morning of Wednesday, 6 March, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. This will be followed by separate interactive dialogues with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism; the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. On Thursday, 7 March, the Council will conclude the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on rights to peaceful assembly and of association, followed by separate interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Friday, 8 March, will start with the panel discussion on countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. This will be followed by the continuation of the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on torture, and the beginning of the interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights. The second week will conclude with a panel on challenges and good practices to realise the right to social security and to provide quality public services.
Third Week of the Session
The Council will start its third week with interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. On Monday, 11 March, in the afternoon, it will hold its annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities. On Tuesday, 12 March, the Council will hold separate interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. The interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children will start at the end of the day, and will conclude on Wednesday, 13 March, to be followed by an interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict. The day will conclude with an interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report identifying the necessary measures for minimising the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food.
Thursday, 14 March, will start with the presentation of the report of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, and thematic reports by the High Commissioner and his Office, and by the Secretary-General, followed by the general debate on agenda item three, namely the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. Between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Council will hold the annual full day meeting on the rights of the child on the theme of the rights of the child and inclusive social protection. Friday, 15 March, will see the Council conclude the general debate on agenda item three. It will then start its consideration of agenda item four on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention, with separate interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and with the independent international fact-finding mission on the situation of human rights in Iran.
Fourth Week of the Session
On Monday, 18 March, the Council will conclude its interactive dialogue with the independent international fact-finding mission on the situation of human rights in Iran. It will then hold separate interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria, and the independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine. The following day, the Council will conclude its discussion on Ukraine, and will hold separate interactive dialogues with the High Commissioner on his oral update on the situation of human rights in Venezuela, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and the High Commissioner on his report on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
Wednesday, 20 March, will see the Council hold an interactive dialogue with the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, hear the presentation of the oral update of the High Commissioner on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, followed by a general debate on agenda item four, namely human rights situations that require the Council’s attention, which will conclude on Thursday morning. The Council will then hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. After hearing the presentation of reports by the Forum on Minority Issues, the Social Forum, and the Special Procedures of the Council, the general debate on agenda item five, namely human rights bodies and mechanisms, will be held.
The Council will end the fourth week by starting to consider the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Reviews of Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Tuvalu, Germany, Djibouti, Canada, Bangladesh, the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Cuba.
Fifth Week of the Session
The Council will continue its consideration of the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Reviews of the abovementioned 14 States all day Monday, 25 March, and into Tuesday morning. It will then hold a general debate on agenda item six, namely the Universal Periodic Review. In the afternoon, it will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. This will be followed by the presentation of the reports of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General under agenda item seven, namely the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, and the general debate on this agenda item. On Wednesday March 27, the Council will conclude the general debate on agenda item seven and hold the general debate on agenda item eight on follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Council will hear the presentation of the report of the intergovernmental working group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, to be followed by the general debate on agenda item nine, namely racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. the Council will hold a meeting in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On Thursday, 28 March, the Council will conclude the general debate on agenda item nine. It will then hold separate interactive dialogues with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, and on the oral update of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Ukraine. It will conclude the week with a high-level dialogue on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic. Friday, 29 March, is a public holiday.
Sixth Week of the Session
Monday, 1 April is a public holiday. On Tuesday, 2 April, the Council will hold separate interactive dialogues with the international human rights expert tasked with identifying and verifying the obstacles to the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia; on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on technical assistance and capacity building for South Sudan; with the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Haiti, with the participation of the independent human rights expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti; and on the oral updates by the High Commissioner and by the team of international experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
At the end of the day on Tuesday, the Council will hear the annual presentation of the High Commissioner on technical cooperation, and the presentation of the report of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation, followed by the general debate on agenda item 10, namely technical assistance and capacity building. The general debate will conclude on Wednesday, 3 April, and the Council will then start to take action on draft decisions and resolutions, appoint new Special Procedure mandate holders and members of mechanisms of the Council, and adopt the report of the session before closing the fifty-fifth regular session of the Council.
The Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system, made up of 47 States, which is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.
The composition of the Human Rights Council at its fifty-fifth session is as follows: Albania (2026); Algeria (2025); Argentina (2024); Bangladesh (2025); Belgium (2025); Benin (2024); Brazil (2026); Bulgaria (2026); Burundi (2026); Cameroon (2024); Chile (2025); China (2026); Costa Rica (2025); Côte d’Ivoire (2026); Cuba (2026); Dominican Republic (2026); Eritrea (2024); Finland (2024); France (2026); Gambia (2024); Georgia (2025); Germany (2025); Ghana (2026); Honduras (2024); India (2024); Indonesia (2026); Japan (2026); Kazakhstan (2024); Kuwait (2026); Kyrgyzstan (2025); Lithuania (2024); Luxembourg (2024); Malawi (2026); Malaysia (2024); Maldives (2025); Montenegro (2024); Morocco (2025); Netherlands (Kingdom of the) (2026); Paraguay (2024); Qatar (2024); Romania (2025); Somalia (2024); South Africa (2025); Sudan (2025); United Arab Emirates (2024); United States of America (2024); and Viet Nam (2025).
The term of membership of each State expires in the year indicated in parentheses.
The President of the Human Rights Council in 2024 is Omar Zniber (Morocco)
The four Vice-Presidents are Febrian Ruddyard (Indonesia); Darius Staniulis (Lithuania); Marcelo Eliseo Scappini Ricciard (Paraguay); and Heidi Schroderus-Fox (Finland). Mr. Staniulis also serves as Rapporteur of the Geneva-based body.
The dates and venue of the fifty-fifth session are subject to change.
Information on the fifty-fifth session can be found here, including the annotated agenda and the reports to be presented.
For further information, please contact Pascal Sim, Media Officer(simp@un.org); Matthew Brown, Public Information Officer (matthew.brown@un.org) and David Díaz Martín (david.diazmartin@un.org).
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HRC/2024/01
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media; not an official record.