Over 100 civil society organisation (CSOs) representatives gathered in Kampala, Uganda, 28 November - 02 December, to participate in a five-day workshop aimed at mobilising civil society engagement with Uganda’s UPR implementation process. Organised on the back of the state’s second UPR review in November 2016, HURINET, OHCHR, Defend Defenders, Lutheran World Federation and UPR Info seized the momentum to debrief CSOs on the recommendations Uganda received and how CSOs can monitor and support implementation. Working in thematic clusters, participants developed implementation plans detailing their expectations on the government and action strategies outlining how they can monitor and contribute to implementation. UPR Info will compile these documents to one implementation plan and one action strategy. The objective is to utilise these instruments as basis for discussion during the foreseen Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on UPR Implementation in Kampala after the adoption of Uganda’s UPR report in March 2017.
Bangkok, 1st December 2016, UPR Info Asia joined the ‘Youth at the Heart of the 2030 Agenda: the Case for Space’ co-organised by Forum Asia, UNESCAP, UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, and Restless Development. Emilie Pradichit, UPR Info Asia Regional Director, moderated the session ‘Inclusive civic spaces for marginalised youth’, in which representatives from grassroots organisations from the Asia-Pacific region discussed policy advocacy strategies for marginalised youth to engage at national and international levels, aiming at their inclusion in policy spaces and holding governments accountable.
On Tuesday 13th December, UPR Info co-hosted the event, Strengthening Civil Society Advocacy in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), with the Permanent Missions of Ireland and Switzerland, to launch its newest publication UPR Info Pre-sessions: Empowering human rights voices from the ground. Approximately 20 Permanent Missions and 80 people attended the event in Room XXVII of the Palais des Nations. H.E. Ms O’Brien and H.E. Ambassador Mr Valentin Zellweger offered opening statements, followed by remarks from Aoife Hegarty, author of the publication and UPR Info Programme Manager. The panel, chaired by Roland Chauville, UPR Info Executive Director, was composed of former UPR Info Pre-sessions participants and key civil society actors: Ms Urantsooj Gombosuren, Centre for Human Rights and Development (Mongolia); Mr Subodh Pyakurel, Informal Sector Service Center (Nepal); Mr Gilbert Onyango, UPR Info Africa Regional Director (Kenya); Mr George Morara, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights; Mr Abdoulaye Kanni, Collectif des Organisations de Défense des Droits de l'Homme et de la Démocratie (Niger) and Ms Bihter Moschini, Arab NGO Network for Development (Lebanon).
