The United Nations Human Rights Council held its Fifty-fourth session from 11 September to 13 October 2023 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The agenda of the session included several high-level meetings addressing crucial human rights issues. IIMA and VIDES International, together with other partners, delivered two oral statements on youth and human rights, one under Item 3 – Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order (text and video) and a another one on the occasion of the Panel discussion on...

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is composed of independent experts who monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States parties. It also monitors the implementation of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. All states parties are required to report to the committee on how the rights are being met.  On May 9 and 10, 2023,...

The United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Livingstone Sewanyana, asked NGOs to provide written inputs for his Thematic Report on Youth Participation and Engagement in Intergovernmental Forums. The Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Youth Rights where it called upon States to empower youth to contribute to the political, civil, economic, social, and cultural development of their countries. The report will be used to identify good practices of youth participation in intergovernmental forums globally to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. The...

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a cyclical review process of all 193 UN Member States. Once every four years the human rights situation in each State is reviewed. The State under review declares what action has been taken and the measures to be adopted to improve human rights within the Country. During the UPR, specific recommendations are made by the Member States of the Human Rights Council to the State under review. The UPR sessions for Argentina, Benin, and Zambia were held between the 23rd and 30th of January...

The United Nations Human Rights Council held its forty-sixth regular session from 22 February to 23 March 2021 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.  It started off with a high-level segment from 22 to 24 February where dignitaries representing more than 130 countries addressed the Council on their governments’ efforts to promote and protect human rights. It was held for the first time entirely online. This session also welcomed the new president, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji.  It was opened with speeches from Secretary-General of the United Nations, António...

The 37th Universal Periodic Review Working Group (UPRWG) Session was held from the 18th to the 29th of January 2021. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council that reviews the human rights situation of each of the 193 UN Member States once every 4 ½ years. It provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and which recommendations they will have to implement before the next review. Istituto Internazionale Maria...

In the occasion of the 30th Convention on the Rights of the Child anniversary, ratified in 1989 by the highest number of Countries (196) and in the fastest way than the others, a three-day commemorative celebration was held in Palais des Nations on the 18th, 19th and 20th of November in Geneva. The event, that took place in the symbolic city of the Convention writing and negotiation, was the peak of a series of events organized throughout 2019. Moreover, the “30 Years of Children’s Rights” book has been published in...

From September 9th to 27th, 2019, the Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) Human Rights Office and VIDES International, participated in the 42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council delivering three oral statements on the following: Items 3 & 5 Clustered interactive dialogue on SR Report on indigenous peoples; Item 6 on the UPR outcomes of Costa rica and Nicaragua. IIMA and VIDES welcomed the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. However, the attainment of the full and equitable enjoyment of the human rights of all indigenous peoples...

On the occasion of the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council, IIMA and Vides International, together with the permanent Mission of the Philippines, organized the side  event: “Promoting a Safe and Empowering Environment for all Children and youth - best practices for child and youth protection and participation through human rights education” held at the Palace of the Nations on September 25, 2019. The event was co-sponsored by sixteen Permanent Missions: Egypt, El Salvador, Italy, Portugal, Ethiopia, Montenegro, Poland, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Thailand, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Holy See, Uruguay; and also...

From June 24 to July 12, 2019, Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) Human Rights Office and VIDES International, contributed to the 41st Session of the UN Human Rights Council with five oral statements on migrants, education, violence against women, women and climate change and on the UPR outcomes of the Dominican Republic.   The Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants highlighted in his report the situation of  migrant girls and women. In our oral stamen we recommended that States provide complete gender-responsive and child-sensitive information on migration-related risks and on the...