Universal Periodic Review

Universal Periodic Review

 UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

 

The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.

 

For more information on the UPR, check the OHCHR web site

 

Message for Human Rights NGOs and Civil Society Organizations:

Sudan will undergo its review under the UPR process in May 2011. Civil Society and other stakeholders are encouraged to submit their inputs directly to OHCHR in Geneva. Kindly send your written inputs by November 2010 to the following email address: uprsubmissions@ohchr.org 

Below are the guidelines and related documents:

If you have questions, requests and/or comments, contact UNMIS Human Rights office directly at unmis-humanrights-cbu@un.org.