57th Regular Session of UN Human Rights Council Kicks Off under Moroccan Presidency

The 57th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) opened in Geneva on Monday under the Moroccan presidency, with a busy agenda including the review of no fewer than 80 reports on the human rights situation worldwide. The session, which runs until October 11 at the Palais des Nations, is chaired by Ambassador Omar Zniber, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva and current President of the HRC for 2024. During its five-week session, the Council will consider over 80 reports submitted by the United Nations Secretariat and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights experts, and other investigative bodies on a wide range of issues pertaining to the human rights situation in almost fifty countries. In all, the Council will hold twenty interactive debates with special procedures mandate holders. Presenting the 57th session of the HRC to the accredited media in Geneva’s Palais des Nations, Zniber outlined an extremely busy agenda, mentioning no fewer than 32 draft resolutions announced for this session, as well as several country reviews and the appointment of new mandate holders. The President of the HRC said he would ensure that the debates at this 57th session would run as smoothly as possible, giving more opportunities and greater visibility to small island states. He also stressed that the Moroccan presidency would ensure that the Council functioned as smoothly as possible, despite the financial crisis facing the United Nations. On the first day of the session, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, will present the update to his annual report on the state of human rights in the world. The general debate on Türk’s report will take place over the following two days. With regard to country situations, the Council will also examine a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka before turning to the human rights situation in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Sudan, Venezuela, Burundi, Syria, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Cambodia, Somalia, and the Central African Republic. The general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention will be held on September 23 and 24. Also during this 57th session, the Council will consider reports on the promotion and protection of human rights prepared at its request by the special procedures experts (special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups) to whom it has entrusted mandates on the following themes: truth, justice, and reparation (September 11); contemporary forms of slavery, use of mercenaries, and rights of the elderly (September 12); right to drinking water and sanitation, democratic international order, and enforced disappearances (September 16); hazardous products and waste, and arbitrary detention (September 17); and rights of peasants (September 18).   The Council will also examine a study by the Secretary-General on the impact of the loss and damage caused by the adverse effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights (September 13). With regard to the right to development, on September 17 and 18, the Council will examine the reports of the Expert Mechanism, the Special Rapporteur, and the Working Group on this issue. On September 18, the Council will also hold its biennial debate on the right to development, during which arguments in favor of a United Nations framework convention on international cooperation in tax matters will be outlined.  On September 11, a round table will focus on the promotion and protection of economic, social, and cultural rights in the context of the fight against inequality. The Council will hold a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures on September 13. Finally, the President of the Economic and Social Council and the Chairman of the Peacebuilding Commission will be invited to report to the Council, respectively, on the debates of the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development and on the work of the Commission on September 18. The general debate on the promotion and protection of human rights will take place after the examination of these reports on September 18 and 19. A general debate on the human rights situation in Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories will take place on October 1. With regard to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, the Council will hold a dialogue on October 2 with the Working Group of Experts and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, as well as with the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Promote Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law Enforcement.  As part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), from September 26 to October 1, the Council will examine the reports of its UPR Working Group on 14 countries: New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Cyprus, Viet Nam, Yemen, Vanuatu, Northern Macedonia, Comoros, Slovakia, Eritrea, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, and Cambodia. During the session, the Council will hold a panel discussion on access for all children, especially the most vulnerable, to inclusive and equitable quality education in the service of peace and tolerance (September 18); a panel discussion on the fulfillment of states’ obligations concerning the role of the family in protecting the human rights of its members (September 25); and its annual debate on mainstreaming a gender perspective in all its work (September 30).  From October 9 to 11, the Council will vote on the draft decisions and resolutions submitted to it on the issues examined during the session. In addition, the President will propose to the Council the appointment of two new Special Procedures mandate holders.