Seminar
on
Universal Periodic Review
Lausanne; August 28, 2006
Presentation by
Ambassador Masood Khan
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative
Disclaimer
• Not an OIC presentation. OIC views were
presented to the Council on August 2. The
OIC as a group would present its positions
only formally to the Human Rights Council
• Views being expressed today with a view to
promoting dialogue and understanding.
What do we need to decide?
What?
• Define the animal. Know its
anatomy. Its genes and lineage. Its
evolution and adaptation to the
new body.
• Question of principles and
parameters
Who?
• The Council. The Plenary or the
Committees or the Working
Groups.
How?
• The process: during the Council
sessions or intersessionally
• Dialogue with country concerned
• Outcome: Process Verbale
• Follow up: VI, TC, RP@ next UPR
When?
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What? - Stick to A/60/251
Normative/ legal basis: All universal human rights under the Charter, the
UDHR, conventions and treaties, domestic laws, commitments, obligations.
Collective rights to self-determination, to development would not to be
sidelined.
Stay within the parameters. Don’t reinvent the wheel. It will only result in loss
of time and needless squabbling.
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Objective and reliable info
Universality of coverage and equal treatment
Cooperative mechanism; interactive dialogue with the full involvement of state
concerned;
Capacity building
Complement not duplicate the work of treaty bodies
Deadline for developing modalities and schedules is one year
Council members first
Member-driven
Who ?
• Reviewers: It should be the
Council, the entire body.
Universal should also mean
universal review by all Council
Members. If it is a Committee, it
should be Committee of the
Whole.
• Observer states and NGOs with
the ECOSOC consultative status
will observe the proceedings.
• Who will prepare the dossier?
Let us call it a report.
• What are the precedents?
• Shall we give this job to The
Office? The Sub-Commission?
Sub-Com successor expert
body?
• States themselves? Our answer:
States themselves.
How? The State
• State concerned prepares and
submits report
• Additional info: reports of the treaty
bodies, special procedures and other
UN sources.
• Anatomy of the report: five
elements: basic facts; institutional
infrastructure; ratifications;
affirmative programmes; role and
independence of media, civil society.
• The report be submitted to members
in advance.
How? The Council
• The Council each year shall
approve a standard
Questionnaire, list of
countries to be reviewed,
schedule.
• Interactive dialogue:
Presentation of the report
by state concerned;
adoption of the outcome.
• Cooperative; constructive.
• Not Name and Shame
• Not You scratch my back,
I scratch yours
• But reciprocal altruism.
• Motto: Help states help
themselves.
• Designate a Rapporteur
Periodicity
• Single cycle: five years to cover all
UN members; 35 to 40 each year; two
hours each state; number of days
required 12 to 14.
• Multiple Cycles: According to the
level of development of states.
• One,
DdCs: 35-e3y-11py;
• Two,
DgCs: 106-e5y-20py
• Three, LDCs: 50-e7y-7py
• Altogether 40 countries each year;
3 hours each state; number of days
in a year 20.
Outcome and Follow up
• OUTCOME:
Proces Verbale : Summary of
proceedings with
recommendations to be adopted
by consensus
• Follow up:
implementations, voluntary
initiatives by states, technical
cooperation, review of progress
at the next UPR.
• Review:
Follow up should itself be
reviewed.
When?
• Commence after modalities for the UPR are
adopted by the Council.
• Prepare intersessionally, but review during
the sessions.
• Nothing would be more important than the
UPR.
Stockholders and Stakeholders
• We will cooperate and
respect each other’s space
• Will change adjacency into
synergy
• Reduce latent hostility
• Special Procedures and
Sub-Commission draw their
authority and legitimacy
from the Council
• Transparency
• Awareness raising
• Education
Lausanne
• Professor Walter Kalin and
Professor Andrew Claphalm,
Nick Howen, Ibrahim Salama –
made brilliant contributions.
Helped us move towards clarity
• Thank you Lausanne; Thank you
Berne
• We appreciate your zest and
enthusiasm.
• We hope next time you will be in
Geneva, with us.
• We would also like to share a few
things with you there.