Third cycle (2017-2022)

The 3rd cycle in numbers

During the 3rd UPR cycle, 193 Member States were reviewed, receiving in total 43,229 UPR recommendations from Member States and Observers, resulting in 16,851 interventions.

Also, more than 6,000 written submissions for the UPR pre-sessions reports were received from a variety of stakeholders, including:

• more than 5,000 from civil society;
• 500 from UN entities;
• more than 150 from regional organizations; and
• more than 100 from National Human Rights Institutions and from other stakeholders, an overall increase compared to the second and first cycle of UPR.

Key achievements of the 3rd UPR cycle

• Concrete improvements in various normative, policy and institutional frameworks;
• The ratification of various international or regional human rights treaties;
• Improvement and reform of legislation in line with international human rights legal obligations, such as decriminalization of defamation, criminalization of domestic violence, and abolition of the death penalty;
  • For example, on 23 July 2021, Sierra Leone’s parliamentarians voted to repeal capital punishment within 72 days following its third UPR review
• Improvements in gender equality, the protection of the rights of women and girls, and the protection of children;
• The adoption of laws focused on the protection of human rights defenders and vulnerable groups;
  • For example, following UPR recommendations, the Law on Human Rights Defenders was adopted in 2021 in Mongolia, the first of its kind in Asia
• More national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles;
• The designation of national prevention mechanisms;
• The adoption of new legislation and policies focused on the right to health, labor rights, climate change and emergency preparedness, and the impact of the global pandemic, etc.

Read more UPR good practices and stories, and learn how the UPR supports sustainable development.

Calendar of reviews for the 3rd cycle