Guy-Alain Emmanuel Gauze, the new Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. Prior to his appointment to Geneva, since 2002, Ambassador Gauze…

This afternoon Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his capacity as Head of the Fact-Finding Mission to Beit Hanoun, held a press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to announce that the investigative mission into the events in Beit Hanoun could not take place as scheduled owing to the lack of…

The Sixth Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction has concluded its three-week session, adopting a final declaration on the various…

Council Also Decides to Undertake Preparations for the Durban Review Conference against Racism The Human Rights Council this morning adopted four resolutions and one decision dealing with the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian Territory; preparations for the Durban Review…

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, chaired the briefing which also heard from Spokespersons for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations…

Adopts Resolutions on Follow-Up to World Conference Against Racism and on Financial and Technical Support The Human Rights Council this afternoon adopted a resolution on follow-up to the 2001 World Conference against Racism and the effective implementation of the its Durban Declaration and…

Decides to Prepare the Durban Review Conference and Establishes Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards in the Fight Against Racism The Human Rights Council today concluded its third regular session, which was held from 29 November to 8 December. During the session, which…

The Human Rights Council this morning discussed the progress report on the expert advice body, hearing a presentation by the Facilitator on the Expert Advice Body. During the discussion, delegations raised such issues as the composition of the body and how experts should be nominated, the tasks of…

The Human Rights Council this morning discussed the progress of the Working Group on the Complaint Procedure, which is examining the effectiveness of the 1503 procedure as part of the overall review of the mechanisms inherited from the Commission on Human Rights. Blaise Godet, facilitator of the…

The President of the Human Rights Council, Luis Alfonso De Alba, has appointed Christine Chinkin of the United Kingdom as a member of the high-level fact-finding mission established by the Council at its special session of 15 November in connection with the Israeli military operations in Beit…