News

  • Czechia stakeholders prepare for their 3rd UPR in November

    04/10/2017

    October 3 – 4 saw UPR Info travel to Prague to train civil society organisations (CSOs) and the State ahead of the third UPR of Czechia on 6 November 2017.

    The first day saw UPR Info provide an introductory training to CSOs on the UPR ahead of many of them speaking at the UPR Info Pre-sessions in Geneva from 10 – 13 October. Following the training a round-table took place to discuss how CSO and State preparations had been progressing since the previous UPR and UPR Info, at this stage, offered the CSOs a variety of best practices, many found in “The CSO Compendium” and “The Butterfly Effect”, on how to sustain their engagement in the UPR beyond the review in November.

  • Sweden's UPR performance discussed in Stockholm

    03/10/2017

    On 28th September, UPR Info had the pleasure of visiting the Swedish capital Stockholm to conduct two UPR seminars; the first focused on Sweden as a Recommending State and the second looked at Sweden from the perspective of a State under review. The day was held on the back of the successful result of a similar orientation day in Stockholm organised in 2016. This time, the second seminar proved a much appreciated addition.

  • António Guterres raises the issue of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders

    03/10/2017

    In his annual report published in September, entitled “Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights”, the United Nations Secretary General (SG) António Guterres expresses his concerns about intimidation and reprisals against those seeking to cooperate or having cooperated with the UN on human rights. He stresses that “addressing reprisals and intimidation is a priority and a core responsibility of the organisation in a whole”.

  • The UPR: a lever to integrate a gender perspective in the SDGs

    28/09/2017

    An annual discussion on the Integration of a Gender Perspective was held on 15th September 2017 during which speakers – including Ms. Salma Nims (Secretary General of the Commission for Women in Jordan), Ms. Dorothy Nyasulu (UNFPA Assistant Representative, Malawi Country Office), Ms. Eva Grambye (Deputy Executive Director, International Division, Danish Institute for Human Rights) and Mr. Roland Chauville (outgoing Executive Director of UPR Info) – gave insights on challenges faced in addressing the issue of gender equality, as well as their views on the role of the UPR mechanism and recommendations. They also had the opportunity to answer to questions highlighting the strong linkages between human rights mechanisms and Agenda 2030.

  • Indian civil society organise nationwide screenings of UPR adoption

    28/09/2017

    On 21 September 2017, the Working Group On Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) facilitated the largest ever live webcast of the adoption of India’s third-cycle UPR. 

    At least 245 screenings took place in nearly all states of India, including Chennai, Madurai, Puducherry, Bangalore, Trivandrum to Sonepat, Almora, Patiala, Sri Nagar, New Delhi, and many others. Nearly eleven thousand people comprising of civil society organisations, college students, lawyers, diplomats, professors, policy makers, and journalists gathered together to watch the Indian Government’s response to its international human rights evaluation. Reaction to the responses was varied. While the participants welcomed India’s acceptance of 152 UPR recommendations - mostly on socio-economic issues - they were also concerned about the remaining 98 recommendations which were noted, predominantly relating to civil and political rights, religious minorities, dalit rights, and human rights defenders.

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