Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...

of 1948. The office was established by the UN General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

on 20 December 1993 in the wake of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights

World Conference on Human Rights

The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War...

.

The office is headed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who co-ordinates human rights activities throughout the UN System

United Nations System

The United Nations system consists of the United Nations, its subsidiary organs , the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations...

and supervises the Human Rights Council

United Nations Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...

in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. The current High Commissioner is South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n lawyer Navanethem Pillay, whose four-year term began on 1 September 2008.

As of 2008, the agency had a budget of US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

120m and 1,000 employees based in Geneva. It is a Ex-Officio member of the Committee of the United Nations Development Group.

Mandate

The mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights derives from Articles 1, 13 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, also known as VDPA, is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria...

and General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, by which the Assembly established the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In connection with the programme for reform of the United Nations (A/51/950, para. 79), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights were consolidated into a single Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 15 September 1997.

Purpose

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

Promotes universal enjoyment of all human rights by giving practical effect to the will and resolve of the world community as expressed by the United Nations;
Plays the leading role on human rights issues and emphasizes the importance of human rights at the international and national levels;
Promotes international cooperation for human rights;
Stimulates and coordinates action for human rights throughout the United Nations system;
Promotes universal ratification and implementation of international standards;
Assists in the development of new norms;
Supports human rights organs and treaty monitoring bodies;
Responds to serious violations of human rights;
Undertakes preventive human rights action;
Promotes the establishment of national human rights infrastructures;
Undertakes human rights field activities and operations;
Provides education, information advisory services and technical assistance in the field of human rights.

Organization

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is divided into organizational units, as described below. The Office is headed by a High Commissioner with the rank of Under-Secretary-General.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Under-Secretary-General)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is accountable to the Secretary-General

United Nations Secretary-General

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....

.

The High Commissioner is responsible for all the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as for its administration, and carries out the functions specifically assigned to him or her by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993 and subsequent resolutions of policy-making bodies; advises the Secretary-General on the policies of the United Nations in the area of human rights; ensures that substantive and administrative support is given to the projects, activities, organs and bodies of the human rights programme; represents the Secretary-General at meetings of human rights organs and at other human rights events; and carries out special assignments as decided by the Secretary-General.

The current High Commissioner is South African Navanethem Pillay.

Deputy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Assistant Secretary-General)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the performance of his or her activities, is assisted by a Deputy to the High Commissioner who acts as Officer-in-Charge during the absence of the High Commissioner. In addition, the Deputy to the High Commissioner carries out specific substantive and administrative assignments as decided by the High Commissioner. The Deputy is accountable to the High Commissioner.

The current Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights is the Republic of Korea's Ms. Kyung-wha Kang.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (New York)

The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (not to be confused with the Deputy High Commissioner, who is also an Assistant Secretary-General) based in New York heads the New York Office of the High Commissioner. He represents the High Commissioner in New York and promotes the integration of human rights in policy processes and activities undertaken by inter-governmental and inter-agency bodies at the United Nations headquarters.

The current Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights is Ivan Šimonović

Ivan Šimonovic

Ivan Šimonović is a Croatian diplomat, politician and law scholar. He was in October 2008 appointed Justice Minister of Croatia. On May 3, 2010, Šimonović was appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights.-Biography:...

from Croatia.

Staff Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Staff Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is headed by a Chief who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the Staff Office are as follows:

Assisting the High Commissioner in the overall direction and supervision of the activities of the human rights programme;
Assisting the High Commissioner in the formulation, communication, implementation and evaluation of policies, practices and activities for the promotion and protection of human rights;
Assisting the High Commissioner in maintaining relations with Governments, other United Nations agencies and entities, international organizations, regional and national institutions, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and academia;
Assisting the High Commissioner in maintaining liaison on policy matters with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and other relevant offices at Headquarters, as well as with the spokespersons of the Secretary-General at New York and Geneva and the media;
Carrying out fund-raising functions and special projects as assigned by the High Commissioner;
Assisting the High Commissioner in developing and maintaining a framework for the management and planning of the activities of the human rights programme and facilitating the development of the overall work programme, and in preparing annual management reports on activities and achievements;
Representing the High Commissioner at meetings and making statements on his or her behalf.

Administrative Section

The Administrative Section is headed by a Chief who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the Administrative Section, in addition to those set out in section 7 of Secretary-General's bulletin ST/SGB/1997/5, are as follows:

Advising the High Commissioner on the budgetary, financial and personnel matters relating to the human rights programme;
Assisting the High Commissioner and appropriate staff in the discharge of their financial, personnel and general administrative responsibilities and administering the associate expert and internship programmes.

New York Office

The New York Office is headed by an Assistant Secretary-General who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the New York Office are as follows:

Representing the High Commissioner at Headquarters, at meetings of policy-making bodies, with permanent missions of Member States, at interdepartmental and inter-agency meetings, with non-governmental organizations and professional groups, at academic conferences and with the media;
Providing policy advice and recommendations on substantive matters to the High Commissioner;
Supplying information and advice on human rights to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General;
Providing substantive support on human rights issues to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other policy-making bodies established in New York;
Providing materials and information to the permanent missions, United Nations departments, agencies and programmes, non-governmental organizations, the media and others regarding the human rights programme;
Providing support to the High Commissioner and other officials, and to Special Rapporteurs and Special Representatives when on mission in New York;
Undertaking other specific assignments as decided by the High Commissioner

Research and Right to Development Branch

The Research and Right to Development Branch is headed by a Chief who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the Research and Right to Development Branch are as follows:

Promoting and protecting the right to development
Right to development
The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...

, in particular by:
1. Supporting intergovernmental groups of experts on the preparation of the strategy for the right to development
  Right to development
  The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...
  
  ;
2. Assisting in the analysis of the voluntary reports by States to the High Commissioner on the progress and steps taken for the realization of the right to development
  Right to development
  The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...
  
  and on obstacles encountered;
3. Carrying out research projects on the right to development
  Right to development
  The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...
  
  and preparing substantive outputs for submission to the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and treaty bodies;
4. Assisting in the substantive preparation of advisory service projects and educational material on the right to development
  Right to development
  The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...
  
  ;
5. Providing substantive analysis and support to the High Commissioner in his or her mandate to enhance system-wide support for the right to development
  Right to development
  The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right...
  
  ;
Carrying out substantive research projects on the whole range of human rights issues of interest to United Nations human rights bodies in accordance with the priorities established by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, also known as VDPA, is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria...

and resolutions of policy-making bodies;
Providing substantive services to human rights organs engaged in standard-setting activities;
Preparing documents, reports or draft reports, summaries and synthesis and position papers in response to particular requests, as well as substantive contributions to information materials and publications;
Providing policy analysis, advice and guidance on substantive procedures;
Managing the information services of the human rights programme, including the documentation centre and library, enquiry services and the human rights databases;
Preparing studies on relevant articles of the Charter of the United Nations for the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs.

Treaties and Commission Branch

The Treaties and Commission Branch (formerly Support Services Branch) is headed by a Chief who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the Treaties and Commission Branch are as follows:

Planning, preparing and servicing sessions/meetings of the Human Rights Council, the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and related working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...

s and of the committees established by human rights treaty bodies and their working groups;
Ensuring that substantive support is provided in a timely manner to the human rights treaty body concerned, drawing on the appropriate resources of the human rights programme;
Preparing state party reports for review by the treaty body concerned and following up on decisions and recommendations;
Preparing or coordinating the preparation and submission of all substantive and other documents and the support from other management units to the activities of treaty bodies serviced, and following up on decisions taken at meetings of those bodies;
Planning, preparing and servicing sessions of board of trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and implementing relevant decisions;
Processing communications submitted to treaty bodies under optional procedures and communications under the procedures established by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1503 (XLVIII) of 27 May 1970 and ensuring follow-up.

Capacity Building Branch

The Capacity Building Branch (formerly Activities and Programmes Branch) is headed by a Chief who is accountable to the High Commissioner. The core functions of the Capacity Building Branch are as follows:

Developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating advisory services and technical assistance projects at the request of Governments;
Managing the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights;
Implementing the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, including the development of information and educational materials;
Providing substantive and administrative support to human rights fact-finding and investigatory mechanisms, such as special rapporteurs, representatives and experts and working groups mandated by the Commission on Human Rights and/or the Economic and Social Council to deal with specific country situations or phenomena of human rights violations worldwide, as well as the General Assembly's Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories;
Planning, supporting and evaluating human rights field presences and missions, including the formulation and development of best practice, procedural methodology and models for all human rights activities in the field;
Managing voluntary funds for human rights field presences;
Managing the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations and United Nations Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

_{(Source: ST/SGB/1997/10, 15 September 1997, SECRETARY-GENERAL'S BULLETIN, ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS)}

High Commissioners for Human Rights

**United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights**
Name	Country	Term	Notes
José Ayala-Lasso	Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...	1994–1997
Mary Robinson Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...	Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...	1997–2002
Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN...	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...	2002–2003	Killed in the Canal Hotel bombing Canal Hotel Bombing The Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 22 people, including the United Nations' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and wounded over 100. The blast targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq created just 5 days... in Baghdad Baghdad Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040... on 19 August 2003
Bertrand Ramcharan Bertrand Ramcharan Dr. Bertrand G. Ramcharan, from Guyana, a former United Nations official who once held functional diplomatic status, was elected in January 2011 President of UPR Info, an non-governmental organisation based in Geneva working to promote and strengthen the Universal Periodic Review...	Guyana Guyana Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...	2003–2004	Acting High Commissioner
Louise Arbour Louise Arbour Louise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...	Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	2004–2008	Did not seek a second term
Navanethem Pillay	South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...	Since 1 September 2008

On 24 July 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...

nominated Navanethem Pillay to succeed Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...

as High Commissioner for Human Rights. The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

reportedly resisted her appointment at first, because of her views on abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

and other issues, but eventually dropped its opposition. Campaign group avaaz.org had also run a high profile campaign calling for greater transparency in the appointment, including a blog site and a spoof job advertisement in the Economist. At a special meeting on 28 July 2008, the UN General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

confirmed the nomination by consensus. Her four-year term began on 1 September 2008. Pillay says the High Commissioner is "the voice of the victim everywhere".

External links

United Nations Rule of Law: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...

work conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Who should be the next Human Rights Commissioner? – Discussion site by www.avaaz.org

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Mandate

Purpose

Organization

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Under-Secretary-General)

Deputy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Assistant Secretary-General)

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (New York)

Staff Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Administrative Section

New York Office

Research and Right to Development Branch

Treaties and Commission Branch

Capacity Building Branch

High Commissioners for Human Rights

See also

External links