GENEVA (25 February 2021) — The UN Human Rights Committee will hold its upcoming session from 1 March to 26 March 2021 and will review reports of Finland and Kenya.

In public dialogues held online and webcast, the Committee, which has received the respective country reports from Finland and Kenya, and submissions from non-governmental organisations as well as other stakeholders, will discuss a range of issues with the respective State delegations.

Among the possible issues likely to be discussed: 

Finland: Measures to prohibit hate speech and intolerance; discrimination against transgender people and intersex children; right to autonomy for people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities; alternatives to remand detention; detention of asylum seekers including children; and the rights of Sami people.

Kenya: Anti-corruption measures; access to safe and legal abortion services; policy to eradicate people trafficking for labour; fundamental freedoms and the right to participation after the 2017 general elections; and the effects of climate change on human rights.
   
The Committee will as well discuss lists of issues on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, Grenada, Iceland, Malawi, Nepal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles and Tanzania to prepare for their reviews at a future session.

More information about the 131th session, including reports submitted by the State parties, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, is now available on the session’s webpage.

END

For more information and media requests in Geneva, please contact:
Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0) 22 928 9855 / media@ohchr.org 

Background 
The Human Rights Committee monitors States parties’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which as of to date has been ratified by 173 States parties. The Committee is made up of 18 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties.

Learn more with our videos on the Treaty Body system and on the Human Rights Committee.

Follow the UN Treaty Bodies on social media!
We are on Twitter @UNTreatyBodies