On 31 August 2010, a high-level meeting of the General Assembly launched the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The plan was adopted by the Assembly in a consensus resolution (64/293) on 30 June 2010, following broad consultations with Member States that were led by facilitators from Portugal and Cape Verde. Key elements of the plan include the creation of a voluntary fund to protect and assist victims, its emphasis on prosecuting perpetrators, and its promotion of stronger, more cooperative partnerships between States, civil society and the private sector. Although all States welcomed the plan of action, some alluded to the 'difficult' debates that had arisen in the negotiations. These centred around concerns, mostly from Western States, that the plan's voluntary nature would undermine enforcement of existing legally-binding instruments, which they regarded as the 'cornerstone' of anti-trafficking efforts.

Read more...

Ban Ki-moon meets with Mr Richard Goldstone

On 18 August 2010, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, released his second report to follow-up on the implementation of the ‘Goldstone report’ into the 2008-09 Gaza conflict. After granting the Israeli Government and the ‘Palestinian side’ a further five months to conduct ‘independent' and ‘credible’ investigations into the violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that were alleged, the Secretary-General forwarded the General Assembly almost 250 pages of material. However, despite this extension of time, the Secretary-General again avoided any analysis or evaluation of the evidence from the two parties, and simply annexed it to his two page introduction.

What is significant in the Secretary-General’s second report, is his message to the General Assembly that it should look to the Human Rights Council to answer the tough questions about how to follow-up on the Goldstone report. The Secretary-General explained that the appropriate body to assess the ‘independence, effectiveness and genuineness’ of the investigations by both parties, and to judge whether they conform with international standards, was the ‘committee of independent experts’ the Council established at its March session with this precise mandate (resolution 13/9). The clear sub-text was that the Secretary-General would not be commenting on these matters, despite two requests from the General Assembly to ‘report’ on progress on the investigations and to advise on whether ‘further action’ by the UN, including the Security Council, might be necessary.

Read more...

For an analytical overview of what happened in 2009 at the Security Council in terms of human rights, please check the chapter dedicated to this body in ISHR's annual publication: Human Rights Monitor 2009 - Security Council.

View the Security Council's provisional' programme of work for this month. For more information of the Security Council's work this month, see Security Council Report's monthly forecast.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations (UN). It is composed of representatives of all member States and has a general mandate to discuss and make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN Charter. Under Article 13 of the Charter, the General Assembly is specifically mandated to ‘initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of …assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion’.

The plenary regular session of the General Assembly runs from the beginning of  September to the end of December, but it can reconvene at any time during the year. Each year the General Assembly addresses over 150 agenda items, which are considered either in the plenary or in one of its six committees.

The Third Committee (Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian) addresses most agenda items relevant to human rights defenders, including women's rights, children’s rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, the elimination of racism and human rights questions. Numerous special procedures also report to the Third Committee on a number of these issues and engage in an interactive dialogue with States. The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is also relevant to human rights defenders, since it evaluates and approves the budgetary requirements arising out of the work of the other five committees. After completing their work, the Third and the Fifth Committee, as well as the other three main committees, submit draft resolutions to the General Assembly for final adoption.

Further reading

• The United Nations' General Assembly’s web page provides links to basic information on the General Assembly including its sessions, committees, press releases, resolutions and records of meetings
• General Assembly resolutions are available in full-text format online at: http://unbisnet.un.org/, and at: http://www.un.org/documents/resga.htm
• Records of voting are available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gavote.htm

The Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations (UN). According to the UN Charter, it has the 'primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security'.

Its main functions are:

• To investigate situations that threaten international peace and security and make recommendations towards the pacific settlement of disputes (Chapter VI of the UN Charter)
• To make recommendations with regard to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression (Chapter VII of the UN Charter)

It can take a number of actions to enforce its mandate, including carrying out military operations, imposing economic sanctions, ordering arms embargoes and inspections, and deploying human rights and election monitors. 

The Security Council functions continuously throughout the year and is composed of 15 members. Five are permanent members (China, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and the Russian Federation) and ten are non-permanent members. The presidency of the Security Council rotates on a monthly basis following the English alphabetical order of the names of member States.

Human rights and the Security Council

Serious and persistent human rights violations can often be the source of and accompany situations that threaten international peace and security. Under Article 39 of the Charter, the Council may also "determine" that a situation characterized by grave human rights violations constitutes a "threat to the peace", which can lead to taking enforcement measures to restore the peace. The Council’s concern with human rights stems largely from these contexts, although it has been slow to effectively integrate human rights concerns into its work.

Further  reading

• The UN Security Council's webpage provides basic information on the Security Council including its rules of procedures, programme of work and subsidiary bodies as well as links to resolutions, presidential statements, press releases and records of Security Council meetings.
• The non-governmental organisation Security Council Report provides comprehensive monthly reports and updates on the Security Council's current and future work.
• The non-governmental organisation Global Policy Forum provides extensive background information on the Security Council, its agenda, its working methods, the issues it has taken up and NGO engagement.