After its 43rd meeting, interrupted by containment measures in Switzerland linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Human Rights Council begins a new session on June 30 under the presidency of Austria. The first session will be marked by the presentation of the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.
It was after much hesitation and disagreement that the representatives of the member states of the Human Rights Council finally accepted the proposal of its Bureau submitted by the President, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, Permanent Representative of Austria to the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva. Indeed, with the coronavirus provisions preventing travel and many borders still closed, it was decided from the outset to rely heavily on virtual participation. Under the conditions described, some regional groups preferred not to hold the session. In their view, the uneven stability of Internet networks and the impossibility of participation by many players, particularly from civil society, meant that this hybrid meeting was incomplete.
During this 44th ordinary session, running from June 30 to July 20, in addition to the presentation of Michelle Bachelet's annual report and an oral update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights, the Council will examine reports presented by experts in the field and other investigative bodies concerning the situation in a dozen countries. Among other things, it will hear the presentation of the report by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea.
Under the agenda item devoted to human rights situations requiring its attention, the Council will have before it, on July 15, an oral update from the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi. Under the heading of technical assistance and capacity-building, it will hold an in-depth dialogue on the oral briefings by the Sudanese Government and OHCHR on the opening of a country office in Sudan (July 17).
During the session, the Council plans to hold five thematic debates. The day of July1 will be devoted to the rights of children to realize their potential in a healthy environment. On July 8, two panel discussions will be held on the challenges of new digital technologies for the promotion and protection of human rights, and the rights of disabled people in the context of climate change. The annual debate will focus on women's human rights. All these meetings will take place virtually.
A session will also be devoted to the adoption of the reports of the Council's Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (July 16), covering fourteen countries including Guinea, Lesotho, Kenya and Guinea-Bissau. On the last two days of its session (July 17 & 20), the Council will vote on the draft decisions and resolutions submitted to it on the issues examined during the session.
The President will also appoint four new mandate holders, namely the Special Rapporteurs on the human rights implications of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous products and wastes; on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and on trafficking in human beings.