The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) was established in 2006 to promote and protect human rights across the globe. A mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review was created by the HRC as a tool to assess each member states human rights situation. This essay will look at the UPRs first cycle across several member states, analysing effectiveness of the mechanism if any at all.
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TOPIC 1: Historical Context.
It can be said the body of Human Rights was first identified in the early eighteenth century, drawn up in response to the experiences of the Second World War. Post war seen the formation of a global organisation known as the United Nations, whose aim was never to let such brutality and conflict happen again. Its members believed that the individual rights of human beings were ˜absolute and inherent'. World leaders came together in a General Assembly in January of 1946 where a drafted declaration of fundamental human rights was received from the Economic and Social Council. This was the first of its kind. It was at the second General Assembly in 1947 that the Commission coined the term ˜'International Bill of Rights'' and applied it to a declaration and a covenant, together with processes of application. On the 10th December 1948 the General Assembly implemented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with 48 of a panel of 56 in its favor.
This body of world leaders compiled a document containing 30 articles defining basic human rights which we now know as ˜The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 28 (civil and political rights) of the declaration states: ˜There shall be an established Human Rights Committee It shall consist of eighteen members and shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided'. Years of dissatisfaction of the Human Rights Commission resulted in the UN in 2006 created a new institution namely the Human Rights Council.