A checklist for successful UPR engagement
4.6 United Nations agencies
4 Incorporate UPR recommendations into United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and Common Country Programming to ensure that implementation is mainstreamed throughout the entire UN country team.
4 Contribute to closing the gaps between Agenda 2030 and the human rights doctrine by ensuring that a human rights-based approach is employed in all development activities.
4 Support the government to establish a NMRF and a national action plan for human rights according to the criteria outlined in chapter 5.1
4 Ensure that civil society is frequently consulted, their concerns taken on board and that they are free to carry out their monitoring and implement-ing activities without fear of reprisals, by provid-ing political and financial support to CSOs and CSO coalitions.
4.7 Journalists
4 Establish a national Human Rights Network for Journalists to maximise coverage, knowledge and resources of human rights reporting.
4 Work through all available platforms including written media, TV, radio, town hall meetings and social media.
4 Provide timely information to the public on gov-ernment commitments made during the Geneva stages of the UPR. The UPR is broadcasted live online.
4 Monitor implementation progress as well as meaningful inclusion of civil society in the UPR process. Report on both success stories and shortcomings of all UPR stakeholders.
4 Hold the government accountable for compliance with its human rights duties. Join CSO coalitions in order to support implementation of recom-mendations on freedom of the press.
4.8 Academics
4 Conduct research on the human rights improve-ments resulting from implemented UPR recom-mendations to highlight the successes of the mechanisms and to identify shortfalls.
4 Ensure that findings are shared in a variety of mediums to increase the public’s knowledge of the UPR.
4 Establish human rights classes analysing the UPR, barely studied by scholars.
Conclusion
The UPR has established itself as an effective tool for national multi-stakeholder dialogue on human rights and development. Just like culture, value systems and traditions, the domestic human rights situation is never constant but always changing. The inherent solution-oriented modalities of the UPR have facili-tated discussions on these themes by providing an unprecedented platform for common understanding between national actors.
The UPR does work. Halfway through the first UPR cycle, 55% of accepted recommendations and 19%
of noted recommendations were either partly or fully implemented. This illustrates that the UPR is deliver-ing on its promise to improve human rights on the ground. Like no other international human rights mechanism, the UPR has succeeded in gaining the political support of all UN Member States. Due to the ability of the UPR to provide a periodic x-ray of the human rights situation in states, states may consider to align their overall human rights engagement with the UPR. The increase of NMRFs and national action plans is another encouraging sign of an increasing number of states taking sustainable implementation seriously, thus contributing to the effectiveness of the mechanism. Tools like these streamline reporting
and follow-up, not only in the UPR, but on all human rights obligations of the state.
CSOs have seized the opportunity given by the UPR to show their government that they are credible part-ners willing to compromise and take responsibility to advance the national human rights situation. Civil society is often at the forefront of starting the imple-mentation process by presenting the government with strategy documents containing SMART indi-cators for monitoring implementation. Grassroots CSOs have also proved that they are able to support the government in fulfilling UPR recommendations.
In order to safeguard the UPR activities of CSOs in a sustainable manner, it is of paramount importance that the diplomatic and donor community bolster political and financial support, particularly for grass-roots CSOs engaged in the follow-up phase.
In the third cycle, implementation must be at the helm of UPR deliberations. Directly linked to this is the need for Recommending states to urgently upgrade all of their recommendations to action-ori-ented recommendations and reiterate them in the next review if they have not been implemented. This is the only way to guarantee a stronger correlation between implementation of UPR recommendations
and improvement of human rights on the ground. It is unworthy of the UNs principal human rights mech-anism to be undermined by vague recommendations aimed at weakening the mechanism. When under review, states must move away from citing a lack of resources and the number of recommendations as justifications for failing to implement recommenda-tions. The objective of the UPR Voluntary Fund is to support implementation and states working through NMRFs testify that once clustered, the actions need-ed to ensure implementation becomes manageable.
There is no room in the third cycle for lacklustre par-ticipation, or worse, persistent non-cooperation.
Moving forward, the UPR is also a promising driver for merging the SDGs with human rights implemen-tation as they are mutually reinforcing. Some states have already included recommendations from Treaty
Body and Special Procedure recommendations in their national action plans, incorporating SDG goals, targets and indicators would make these instruments even more robust. This mutually reinforcing dynamic should be fully utilised in the third cycle.
The UPR has demonstrated its usefulness in spread-ing universal human rights norms across the globe.
To sustain progress and allow the mechanism to reach its full potential, all UPR stakeholders have a responsibility to ensure sustainable implementa-tion of UPR recommendaimplementa-tions. The present study demonstrates the need to move beyond promises and to learn from human rights advocates active on the local, domestic and international levels. This way, the butterfly effect created by the UPR can contribute to human rights improvements in all corners of the world.
Endnotes
1 For an overview on the action categories of UPR recommendations, please see: UPR Info, Beyond Promises, 2014, pp. 21–25. Online:
https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/2014_beyond_promises.pdf 2 Session 13 to 18
3 Session 19–24
4 Based on the action category constructed by Professor Edward McMahon. Online:
https://www.upr-info.org/database/files/Database_Help_Guide.pdf
5 For a comment on the opportunities and constraints CSOs face in aquiring funds for their UPR activities, please see chapter 3.2.
6 UPR Info, Beyond Promises, 2014, p. 5 Online:
https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/2014 _beyond_promises.pdf 7 Recommended that marital rape, child abuse and domestic violence be criminalized, perpetrators are
prosecuted and sanctioned, human rights training be provided for officials dealing with instances of domestic violence and child abuse, and that child-sensitive procedures be adopted during criminal proceedings involving children
8 Ensure that domestic violence is properly punished and victims, including those of marital rape, are properly protected
9 http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/05/16/3/0302000000AEN20130516003100315F.HTML 10 http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session13/FI/FinlandImplementation2.pdf, 2014, p. 9 11 http://tgeu.org/more-equality-for-trans-persons-in-finland/
12 Recommended that a national commission on human rights be established in accordance with the Paris Principles in fulfilment of its voluntary pledges
13 Recommended that a national commission on human rights be established in accordance with the Paris Principles
14 Recommended that a national commission on human rights be established in accordance with the Paris Principles
15 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/burkina_faso/session_16_-_april_2013/
ahrcwg.616bfa1burkinafasoe.pdf, paras. 9, 64
16 https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37717/en/tajikistan:-media-law
17 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/czech_republic/session_14 _-_october_2012/
czechrepublic_midterm_2015.pdf, paras. 40 –41 18 Namibia mid-term report, p.10
https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/namibia/session_10_-_january_2011/namibia_
19 https://www.google.ch/
url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiKubP_
y9XPAhUFshQKHXT_DqEQFggjMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ditshwanelo.org.bw%2FFINAL
E%2520Civil%2520Society%2520Universal%2520Periodic%2520Review%2520(UPR)%2520Mid-Term%2520Report.docx&usg=AFQjCNG8qnvN8r7-3CZBB8dNaJNPPlkkZA&sig2=YF35sd9XW9ine5qLdZ rYBg
20 http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=57995&dir=2016/february/23
21 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/botswana/session_15_-_january_2013/botswana_
mid-term_2016.pdf, p. 34
22 http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=63643&dir=2016/october/07
23 Bring its legislation into conformity with its commitment to equality and non-discrimination, by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
24 Bring its Criminal Code into conformity with its international commitments by taking appropriate steps to ensure that same-sex activity between consenting adults is not subject to criminal sanctions
25 Confirm its commitments to equality and non-discrimination by decriminalizing consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex as well as any discriminatory provisions with respect to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons
26 Repeal all provisions in its domestic law criminalizing consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex and combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual persons through political, legislative and administrative measures
27 http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/5198/
Seychelles+parliament+passes+bill+to+decriminalize+sodomy 28 http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/4702/
Seychelles’+parliament+to+consider+decriminalising+homosexuality+in+
29 UPR Info, Beyond Promises, 2014. Online:
https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/2014 _beyond_promises.pdf 30
https://www.upr-info.org/en/news/upr-info-asia-supports-thai-csos-engaging-with-the-royal-thai-government-to-inform-its-state-0
31 (1) Administration of Justice & Freedom of Expression; (2) Right to Privacy; (3) Right to Life (torture, enforced disappearances); (4) Right to Health; (5) People living with HIV & Key-affected Women; (6) Migrant Rights; (7) Land Rights & Natural Resources; (8) Human Rights Situation in the South; (9) LGBTI Community; (10) Indigenous People; (11) Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Stateless Persons, Human Trafficking; (12) Rights of the Child; (13) People Living with Disabilities; and (14) Older Persons Rights.
32 https://www.upr-info.org/en/news/supporting-the-formation-of-the-thai-csos-coalition-for-the-upr 33 https://www.upr-info.org/upr-process/pre-sessions
34 https://www.upr-info.org/en/news/thai-voices-from-the-ground-pre-sessions-on-thailand-held-in-bangkok
35 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_factsheets_-_
thailand2016-en.pdf
36 https://www.upr-info.org/en/news/thailand-from-the-review-to-the-upr-follow-up-phase-with-the-thai-csos-coalition-for-the-upr
37 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_factsheets_-_
38 http://www.mre.gov.py/mdhpy/Buscador
39 Poverty, Institutional Strengthening / LGBT, Persons Deprived of Liberty, Indigenous Peoples / Afro- descendants /Migrants, Children and teenagers, Women, People with disabilities / Older Persons.
40 https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G15/220/24/PDF/G1522024.pdf ?OpenElement 41 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/RES-6.17.pdf
42 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRFundParticipation.aspx
43 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRVoluntaryFundFinancialAndTechnicalAssistance.
aspx
44 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/a_hrc_res_5_1_e.pdf 45 http://s.upr-info.org/2cycgUV
46 Committee on the Rights of the Child (2011); Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination (2010), Human Rights Committee (2008).
47 A syncretistic religion that mixes Christian beliefs with animism.
48 The tab How to participate on UPR Info’s website offers an entry point for practical suggestions on interaction with the UPR: https://www.upr-info.org/
49 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/a_hrc_res_5_1_e.pdf, para. 15(a) 50 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Chair) President’s Office Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry of Health and
Family Ministry of Education Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports Attorney General’s Office Maldives Police Service Human Rights Commission of the Maldives Care Society (NGO) Hand-in-Hand (NGO) Transparency Maldives (NGO) Maldives Detainee Network (NGO) UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (Observer).
51 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/maldives/session_9_-_november_2010/
ahrcwg.69mdv1rev.1maldives.pdf
52 https://www.upr-info.org/en/news/denmark-accepts-20-new-recommendations-mid-term 53 https://www.vlada.cz/en/pracovni-a-poradni-organy-vlady/
54 http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/HRIndicators/A-HRC-27-41_en.pdf, p. 8 55 http://npa.hrc.co.nz
56 http://www.mre.gov.py/mdhpy/Buscador/Home
57 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/mali/session_15_-_january_2013/a_hrc_wg.6_15_
mli_1_e.pdf
58 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/sri_lanka/session_14 _-_october_2012/
ahrcwg.614lka1e.pdf
59 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/colombia/session_16_-_april_2013/
ahrcwg.616col1colombiaannexivs.pdf
60 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/south_africa/session_13_-_may_2012/a.hrc_.
wg_.6.13.zaf_.1_annex1.pdf
61 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRImplementation.aspx
62 First cycle: That the principles of governance set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are applied, as they are key to the sustainable management of natural resources, such as protected rainforests, and essential to the realization of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights. Second cycle: Apply broadly the principles of governance set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as they are key to the sustainable management of natural resources, such as protection of rainforests, and essential to the realization of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights, as recommended previously
63 https://www.norad.no/en/front/countries/africa/madagascar/
64 UPR Info, Starting all over again? An analysis of the links between 1st and 2nd cycle UPR recommendations, 2015. Online:
http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_info_starting_all_over_again_
january_2015.pdf
65 Time limitations for the detention of asylum seekers should be codified in law to ensure that no asylum seeker, including those who are in the process of being removed from Australia, is detained beyond six months. Online: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/r/sub/1007-UPR.pdf
66 Australia should repeal the mandatory detention provisions in the Migration Act, codify that asylum seekers be detained only as a last resort, stipulate in law maximum time limits on immigration detention and introduce a system of periodic judicial review of all decisions to detain. Online:
http://hrlc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NGO-Coalition-UPR-Recommendations.pdf
67 Study the possibility of accepting the competence of the Committee against Torture (Panama); Study the possibility of the ratification of the OP-CAT (Panama); Take all necessary measures towards acceding to the Rome Statute of the ICC (Cyprus); Amend the 2014 Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act (TRC) in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling of 26 February, 2015 in order to uphold international standards relating to accountability for gross violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law (Denmark).
68 http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/scott-morrison-says-he-was-unaware-of-refugee-council-funding-until-after-budget-night-20140530-399bq.html
69 http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/grants/monitoring-improvement-human-rights-malaysia 70 Abolish FGM and as a first step support those initiatives from within the country which call for prohibiting
FGM at least for minors of under 18 years age
71 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/sl_step_1_outcome_charter_2.pdf 72 UPR Info, Beyond Promises, 2014, pp.21–25. Online:
http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/2014 _beyond_promises.pdf 73 Develop an awareness campaign to address traditional beliefs that are harmful to the rights of children,
especially their right to life.
74 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/benin/session_2_-_may_2008/
questionstobeninrev.20.pdf
75 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/benin/session_14 _-_october_2012/
advancequestionsbenin2012add2.pdf
76 Increase its efforts to address the human rights challenges faced by all sex workers
77 Consider the ratification of the Minamata Convention and update article 4.1.23 of the Law on Minerals of Mongolia, which applies to small-scale mining, to secure mining rights to small-scale miners and formalize their operation as soon as possible
78 Elaborate and implement a national action plan on the use of mercury in the artisanal mining sector in order to protect the health of workers involved in the work of this sector as well as the environment
79 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/wghr_tracking_implementation_
monitoring_tool_2013.pdf
80 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_factsheets_mngof_
en.pdf
81 https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_factsheets_-_
myanmar2015.pdf
82 http://hrlc.org.au/universal-periodic-review-of-australia-in-november-2015-ngo-materials/
83 (English) https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_
factsheets_-_thailand2016-en.pdf
(Thai) https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/upr_advocacy_factsheets_-_
thailand2016-th.pdf
84 https://promolex.md/evaluarea-periodica-universala/?lang=en 85 http://cesr.org/article.php?id=1891
86 http://adhrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ADHRB_February2014 _web.pdf 87 Your Rights Right Now, UPR of Ireland – Interim Reporting Stage, 2014. Online:
http://www.rightsnow.ie/assets/33/D33ABD13-E5DA-4A01-8E3B5D67B7E4587D_document/ICCL_UPR_
Interim_Stage_compendium_March_2014.pdf
88 http://sexualrightsinitiative.com/universal-periodic-review/data/ (initially based on UPR Info’s database and subsequently improved).
89 http://epu-mali.org/etat-de-mise-en-oeuvre/
90 http://www.un.am/up/file/UPR%20report%20from%20OSI_ESCR_Volume%20II_eng.pdf, p.3
91 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision- making in political, economic, and public life
92 Plan International, Counting the Invisible, 2016. Available at
https://plan-international.org/because-i-am-a-girl/counting-invisible-girls.
93 Ensure that the new legislation on surveillance of communications by the intelligence service complies with international law, particularly with the principle of proportionality (Switzerland); Speed up the rebuilding and compensation process in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes (Germany); Facilitate the realization of economic, social and cultural rights through the reconstruction of the areas affected by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 (Algeria).
94 The global development context implies increasing pressure on human rights. Millions of people have been lifted out of poverty due to globalisation and economic development over the past three decades. But the environmental costs of this development in terms of climate change, desertification, air pollution, and depletion of water resources have proven to be unsustainable in both environmental and human terms. At the same time, despite economic growth the gap between rich and poor has increased globally. This has spurred a shift to a sustainability-focused global development agenda. In implementing this agenda, human rights principles and institutions will need to create a global development framework that is both sustainable and just in its outcomes. Online:
http://www.humanrights.dk/files/media/dokumenter/udgivelser/strategies/dihr_international_
strategy_2015-17.pdf, p.10
95 http://sdg.humanrights.dk/
96 http://www.humanrights.dk/files/media/dokumenter/sdg/dihr_human_rights_reference_paper_to_the_
sdg_indicators_new.pdf
97 http://www.humanrights.dk/sites/humanrights.dk/files/may_17_follow-up_and_review_sdg_docx.pdf 98 DIHR, UPR of Denmark 2016 – List of Selected Recommendations, 2016. Online:
http://menneskeret.dk/files/media/dokumenter/nyheder/list_of_selected_recommendations_upr_
denmark_24 _session_2016_-_new_version.pdf 99 http://www.upr-info.org/en/upr-process/follow-up
100 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/letter_of_cooperation_sierra_leone.pdf 101 OHCHR created a movie about the project. Online:
100 http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/letter_of_cooperation_sierra_leone.pdf 101 OHCHR created a movie about the project. Online: