Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State and a long-time human rights champion, summarised the UN Human Rights Council aptly at the start of the Biden Administration in the USA: “When it works well, the Human Rights Council shines a spotlight on countries with the worst human rights records and can serve as an important forum for those fighting injustice and tyranny.”11 At the same time, Blinken recognized “that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel”12 but he thought that “positive change” could be made within the Council.
Yes, the Human Rights Council has its merits and its flaws. Blinken thought, for example, that “the Council could help to promote the fundamental rights of women, girls, lgbtqi+ persons and other marginalized communities.”13 At the same time, the Financial times pointed out that the body “includes Russia, Venezuela and China, which the US has accused of committing genocide against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. Eritrea, Mauritania and Pakistan are other members regularly cited for violations.”14
The 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, from 22 February to 23 March, will consider issues including the protection of human rights defenders, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests – particularly in the United States of America, freedom of religion or belief, protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism, human rights situations in States including Nicaragua, Venezuela, Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem, Syria, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, among many others.15
The human rights community will probably be heartened by some actions of the Council on these issues and situations, and will undoubtedly be disappointed by the Council’s failure to act on others. Nevertheless, Governments, ngos and special procedures of the Council will have had opportunities to air their concerns before the Council and that would probably give a measure of solace to the victims of gross violations.
The Human Rights Council is a political body mandated to act on the basis of human rights principles. Principle and politics coexist uneasily within the Council, with politics trumping principle on many occasions. The Council should stand for the universality of human rights; it should act for the promotion and protection of human rights, the prevention of human rights violations, the protection of victims of violations and for justice for the victims of such violations. At the same time, its founding resolution encourages it to act through cooperation and dialogue, which numerous members of the Council interpret as meaning that the Council should not condemn countries, even when they are committing egregious violations of human rights. This is hard to swallow for believers in the universal protection of human rights, including this author.
Against this background it might, at first sight, seem strange to write a book on The Protection Role and Jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Council. We think, however, that this could still be a worthwhile effort. The Human Rights Council is the principal UN body specifically tasked with the promotion and protection of human rights and it could be useful to gather up the positive
At the end of the day, it is the United Nations, for all of its challenges, that helps define universal values and principles of protection, through the International Court of Justice, human rights treaty bodies, the Security Council, the General Assembly, and its subsidiary organ, the Human Rights Council. The United Nations is the leading arbiter of what is universal.
It has long been established that political organs of the United Nations can contribute to the progressive development of international law.16 In this book we shall endeavour to identify such contributions by the Human Rights Council when it comes to its protection role and jurisprudence.
The method we shall follow in discussing the ten thematic chapters in this book will be to present, in a flexible manner: the mandate of the Council, the relevant normative or policy framework, selected evidence from the practice of the Council, comments on that practice, some recommendations, and a synthesis of our findings at the end.
“US returns to UN human rights body”, Financial Times, London, 9 February, 2021, p.4. On 10 October, 2021, upon the election of the USA to membership of the Council, Secretary-of-State Blinken issued a statement in which he offered the following assessment of the Human Rights Council: “The Council plays a meaningful role in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms by documenting atrocities in order to hold wrongdoers accountable. It focuses attention on emergencies and unfolding human rights crises, ensuring that those who are voiceless have a place to be heard. The Council provides a forum where we can have open discussions about ways we and our partners can improve. At the same time, it also suffers from serious flaws, including disproportionate attention on Israel and the membership of several states with egregious human rights records. Together, we must push back against attempts to subvert the ideals upon which the Human Rights Council was founded, including that each person is endowed with human rights and that states are obliged to protect those tights.” – Press Release by the US Department of State, 14 October, 2021.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
International Service for Human Rights, “hrc 46/ Key Issues on agenda of March 2021 session, 17 February, 2021, p. 1.
See, e.g. Rosalyn Higgins, The Development of International Law Through the Political Organs of the United Nations, London, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1963.