Overview of UN Mechanisms

Module 11: Introduction to UN Mechanisms

Treaty Bodies

In order to monitor and encourage implementation of human rights obligations under UN treaties, a number of committees of independent experts known as ‘treaty bodies’ were created under various human rights treaties to monitor the implementation of obligations under the treaties over which they have jurisdiction.(1)

Treaty Bodies and Corresponding Conventions
Treaty	Corresponding Treaty Body
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights	Human Rights Committee
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women	Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment	Committee against Torture
Convention on the Rights of the Child	Committee on the Rights of the Child
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families	Committee on Migrant Workers
Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture	Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance	Committee on Enforced Disappearances

The exact mandates of the treaty bodies vary, but they share many features. Each treaty body, with the exception of the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture:(2)

Considers regular reports on respect for treaty rights which are submitted by State parties;
Publishes observations and recommendations to guide specific states in implementing their obligations under the treaty; and
Elaborates and publishes ‘general comments’, which are authoritative interpretations of specific articles or subject matters covered in their treaty.(3)

Additional activities that certain treaty bodies are mandated to perform include considering and issuing opinions on individual and (more rarely) inter-state complaints and conducting or initiating investigations through country visits.(4)

The Human Rights Council

he Human Rights Council is a UN intergovernmental body, with a mandate to promote human rights compliance. The Council was created in 2006 through a UN General Assembly resolution(5) as a replacement for the UN Human Rights Commission in response to perceived failings of that body.(6) The Human Rights Council consists of 47 states elected for fixed terms “based on equal geographical distribution.”(7)

The Human Rights Council holds three regular sessions annually, in addition to certain ‘special sessions’ held to address urgent human rights situations.(8) A key outcome of many of these sessions are Human Rights Council resolutions addressing thematic issues or pressing country-specific situations. Although non-binding, these resolutions often have significant persuasive force and have helped contribute to the progressive development of human rights standards. However, as the direct product of an intergovernmental body, they are inevitably influenced by certain political considerations and are sometimes the product of compromises due to the need to build sufficient support among the states which sit on the Council.

One prominent mechanism associated with the UN Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. The UPR is a process whereby states undergo regular reviews of their human rights record. Previously, this occurred every four years although the review has moved to a four-and-a-half-year schedule.(9) The UPR is based on a consultative and cooperative process whereby reviewed states present a report and other states are afforded the chance to provide comments, questions and recommendations.(10) Civil society cannot directly participate in the review, although non-governmental organisations may observe proceedings, provide submissions and suggest questions be put forward by states which with they may have good relations.(11)

Another key mechanism mandated by the UN Human Rights Council is the special procedures system. The special procedures are mandates created to address thematic or geographic issues and take the form of individuals (either Special Rapporteurs or Independent Experts) or Working Groups consisting of five members drawn equally from five different regional groups.(12) These special mechanisms engage in a variety of activities, such fact-finding, country missions and reporting, publishing thematic reports, addressing UN bodies, and receiving and following up on individual communications.

The Principal Organs of the United Nations

The principal organs of the UN (the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Security Council and the International Court of Justice) all play a role in the UN human rights system. The General Assembly is the primary deliberative body of the UN and regularly issues non-binding resolutions, many of which address country-specific or thematic human rights issues. Also of relevance to human rights are the activities, such as debates and resolutions, of certain subcommittees of the General Assembly, notably the Third Committee (which covers social, humanitarian and cultural matters) and the Sixth Committee (which covers legal affairs).(13) The human rights activities of the Economic and Social Council have waned over the years, although it still plays a role in respect of economic, social and cultural rights, including preparing reports and recommendations in relation to these rights.(14)

In contrast to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, the Security Council can in certain cases issue resolutions that are formally binding as a matter of international law. Although the Council is not in essence a human rights body, certain matters of peace and security inevitably involve human rights issues (for example, in respect of peacekeeping missions that include a human rights mandate or serious situations of human rights abuse which are deemed to pose a threat to security).(16) The International Court of Justice is the UN’s main judicial organ. Its decisions are formally legally binding on states that have accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. Although the International Court of Justice is not a human rights court and not mandated to accept individual complaints, some of its decisions have played a key role in the development of international human rights jurisprudence.(17)

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has a coordinating role in respect of the UN’s human rights activities and works closely with the various UN bodies, including the treaty bodies, the UN Human Rights Council and the special procedures, as well as working directly with states to encourage compliance with human rights norms. Of particular use for legal practitioners is the OHCHR’s centralised database of the jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies.

Footnotes

For more information on treaty bodies, see International Service for Human Rights, ‘Simple Guide to the UN Treaty Bodies’ (2015) (accessible at: https://ishr.ch/defenders-toolbox/resources/updated-simple-guide-to-the-un-treaty-bodies-guide-simple-sur-les-organes-de-traites-des-nations-unies/)
The Subcommittee on the Prevention has a distinct preventative mandate and is different from the Committee against Torture, the mandate of which more closely resembles that of other treaty bodies.
International Service for Human Rights, ‘Simple Guide to the UN Treaty Bodies’, above n 5, p. 14.
Id.
UN Doc. A/RES/60/251(2006) (accessible at: http://www.un-documents.net/a60r251.htm).
For more background on the impetus for creating the Human Rights Council, see Rosa Freedman, ‘The Human Rights Council’ in Philip Alston and Frédéric Mégret (eds.), The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal, 2^nd ed (2020, Oxford University Press).
GA Res 60/251 (2006), above n 5 at para. 7.
Child Rights International, ‘A Guide to UN Human Rights Mechanisms’ at p. 5 (accessible at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5afadb22e17ba3eddf90c02f/t/60d1e2790208354614305583/1624367738499/UN+mechanisms_+A+guide_2015.pdf).
Rosa Freedman, ‘The Human Rights Council’ in Philip Alston and Frédéric Mégret (eds.), above n 10 at p. 220.
For more on the UPR process, see Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Universal Periodic Review’ (accessible at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/upr-main).
For more information on civil society participation in this process, see Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Universal Periodic Review: a Practical Guide for Civil Society’ (2014) (accessible at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/universal-periodic-review-practical-guide-civil-society).
Id. at p. 229.
See Andrew Clapham, ‘The General Assembly’ in Philip Alston and Frédéric Mégret (eds.), above n 10, pp. 104-105. For more background on the General Assembly, see Council on Foreign Relations, ‘Backgrounder: The Role of the UN General Assembly’ (2021) (accessible at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/role-un-general-assembly).
Frédéric Mégret, ‘The Economic and Social Council’ in Philip Alston and Frédéric Mégret (eds.), above n 10 at p. 132.
On the role of the Security Council in human rights protection, see Bardo Fassbender (ed.), Securing Human Rights?: Achievements and Challenges of the UN Security Council (2012, Oxford University Press).
On the role of the Security Council in human rights protection, see Bardo Fassbender (ed.), Securing Human Rights?: Achievements and Challenges of the UN Security Council (2012, Oxford University Press).
On the role of the International Court of Justice in human rights protection, see Eva Rieter, ‘The International Court of Justice and Its Contribution to Human Rights Law: Final Report of the ILA International Human Rights Law Committee’, pp. 19-15 of Judging International Human Rights (2019, Springer).