The fifth regular session of the Human Rights Council (the Council) begins in Geneva this week, running from Monday, 11 June – Monday, 18 June 2007. The session combines the presentation of Special Procedures reports with the final phase of the Council’s institution-building process.
The fifth regular session of the Human Rights Council (the Council) begins in Geneva this week, running from Monday, 11 June – Monday, 18 June 2007. The session combines the presentation of Special Procedures reports with the final phase of the Council’s institution-building process.
The first two-and-a-half days of the session are allocated to the presentation of reports by Special Procedures mandate holders. The following thematic mandate holders are scheduled to present reports:
- Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Leandro Despouy
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Ms. Sigma Huda (although it is now unlikely that Sigma Huda will attend)
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mr. Doudou Diène
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Mr. Jean Ziegler
- Special Rapporteur on toxic and dangerous products and wastes, Mr. Okechukwu Ibeanu
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Mr. Miloon Kothari
- Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Mr. Arjun Sengupta; and the
- Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Mr. Rudi Muhammad Rizki.
The Special Representative on Cambodia, Mr. Yash Ghai, will also present his report, as will the mandate holders on Belarus, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Somalia, and Sudan.
The remaining three-to-four days of the session have been put aside for the completion of the Council’s institution-building process. The Council has set Monday, 18 June 2007 as the deadline for the process, as the Council’s new President and bureau, and the newly elected (and re-elected) member States of the Council, will take office on 19 June 2007.
At an informal consultation on 4 June 2007, the President of the Council distributed his Institution Building President's Text – a document consolidating the non-papers of all six of the Council's institution-building working groups, and reflecting the progress made since the close of the April session of the institution-building working groups. Since 4 June 2007 the President's text has served as the base document for negotiations; however, the President has announced that he will distribute an updated text on Wednesday, 13 June 2007 during the agenda item on institution-building.
It remains unclear how the President will run the institution-building negotiations at the session. What is clear is that the President will continue his "two track approach" (using both the plenary and parallel meetings for the institution-building process), and that the President is aiming to complete the institution-building negotiations by the afternoon of Friday, 15 June 2007, leaving the Monday meeting for the adoption of Council decisions and for the organisation of the Council’s program of work for the next year. That said, much remains to be settled between the major groups of States if the President’s final text is to be adopted by consensus.
FORUM-ASIA will continue its Daily Brief and Asian Highlight series at the fifth session. Visit http://hrc.forum-asia.org
