Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session on the Human Rights situation in South Sudan on 14 December 2016

BACKGROUND RELEASE 

GENEVA (9 December 2016) - The Human Rights Council will hold a Special Session on the human rights situation in South Sudan on Wednesday, 14 December starting at 10 a.m. in Room XX of the Palais des Nations. 

The Special Session is being held following an official request received from the United States on behalf of a core group of States, and supported by 40 States.  The letter received indicates that “a special session [on South Sudan] is needed because of the importance and the urgency of this situation.”

In order for a Special Session to be convened, the support of one-third of the 47 members of the Council – 16 or more - is required.  This request was thus far supported by the following States Members of the Council (16): Albania, Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United Kingdom.

The request was also supported by the following observer States (24): Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

The list of signatories remains open up to the holding of the Special Session.  Therefore, the above list of States is to be considered provisional.

In connection with this Special Session, the Council will convene an organizational meeting on Monday, 12 December, at noon in Room XX, where specific details on the Special Session and its scenario will be announced.  This meeting will be public.

This will be the twenty-sixth Special Session of the Council.  The last Special Session was held on 21 October 2016 and addressed the situation in Aleppo, Syria.

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For use of the information media; not an official record