International Service for Human Rights

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a State-driven process, carried out under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations. A State is reviewed under the UPR approximately every four and a half years. It is a cooperative process which by the end of 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country (marking the end of the first ‘cycle’ of the UPR). The second cycle of the UPR will begin in May 2012.