Opening Statement by Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at an informal briefing to Member States on the Universal Periodic Review Trust Fund

15 September 2015

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to open this side-event on “The UPR Trust Fund on Implementation of Recommendations: Follow-up Support Given at the Country Level,” which is aimed at highlighting examples of ways in which the Trust Fund has been used to support States.

I am particularly pleased to be sitting on this podium with a number of distinguished representatives from States, who will be sharing their experience of support from OHCHR, through this Trust Fund, in order to follow-up on their obligations and commitments made to the international community. This is part of the OHCHR effort to strengthen the State-to-State dialogue in the sharing of practices in following up to recommendations from the UPR. So thank you, Excellencies, for being here with us today on the podium. I hope that with strengthened support to my Office, including to the UPR Trust Fund on Implementation, my colleagues and I can continue working side-by-side with all States to bring such efforts to fruition.

Excellencies,

The UPR has enjoyed an unprecedented 100 % participation of all Member States in the review thus far, and our efforts in this regard must continue through the third cycle. We can be proud of this engagement and commitment. But the real test of the success of the UPR will necessarily focus on whether and how its recommendations are being implemented, and the impact this is having on the ground.
The UPR has so far produced over 40,000 recommendations, and when coupled with recommendations from other human rights mechanisms, including the treaty bodies and the special procedures, States are faced with a daunting task.

The issue of effective implementation and follow-up of recommendations at the country level is at the heart of the Human Rights Council’s consideration. How can the effectiveness of the work of the Human Rights Council be strengthened? How can we ensure greater implementation and sustainable impact on the ground?

Excellencies,

With policy guidance from the Board of Trustees of the Fund, my Office has sought to use the Trust Fund on UPR Implementation to strengthen comprehensive national follow-up mechanisms and processes. These requests come from the States themselves, reflecting their commitment to engage with and implement the growing number of recommendations.

Today we will hear more about the work done by States, with the support of the UPR Trust Fund, to strengthen such national follow-up processes. We are honored to have with us H.E. Ms. Rocio Florentin, Minister of the Secretariat on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Paraguay, who will speak on the country’s national system of follow-up, and in particular on the development of the database as an effective tool for monitoring implementation. Mali’s example will highlight efforts to strengthen the standing inter-ministerial structure for stronger follow-up and coordination in implementing the national action plan. OHCHR provides technical assistance and support to such institutional structures based on States’ and our appreciation that a well-functioning standing inter-ministerial structure is a key step towards more effective and sustainable engagement with international human rights mechanisms, both in terms of reporting and implementation.

The examples of Afghanistan will highlight the support given through the UPR Trust Fund to develop effective tools for follow-up, notably in drafting effective implementation action plans and developing databases for tracking purposes. Here I would like to note that with the financial support of the Trust Fund, my Office was able to compile a set of practices on National Human Rights Action Plans to guide States in their efforts to develop implementation frameworks. This set of practices looks at the processes involved in formulating Action Plans and ways in which they have been effectively implemented and monitored. Copies are available here in the room.

The example from Thailand centers on our efforts to support States in addressing and implementing priority, thematic human rights issues, drawn from broader implementation plans. Finally, the example of South America, which will be introduced by Chile through a video produced by our Regional Office on the project, will underscore the complementary role of the international community in supporting States to meet their obligations, particularly the role of the UN Country Team and the integration of recommendations into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, or UNDAF.

There are many other examples. But none of these projects to support States in following up on the UPR would have been possible without the UPR Trust Fund on Implementation.

States are increasingly seeing the value of strengthening comprehensive national follow-up mechanisms and processes, and in turn, we are seeing increasing requests from States for technical cooperation to strengthen coordination mechanisms; draw up effective implementation plans with solid indicators and timelines; develop databases to facilitate States’ monitoring of and reporting on obligations; and of course to advance in the implementation of specific themes. Two recent regional seminars which we organized on UPR follow-up – for Caribbean States, in Barbados, and for Portuguese-speaking countries in Brazil – benefited from State-to-State sharing of experiences and also led to increased requests. We plan a third such workshop in Fiji this November, for the Pacific region.

There is no doubt States need greater technical cooperation for follow-up. We hear this call loud and clear. And we are eager to assist, but we cannot do so without additional funds to the Office, including to the UPR Trust Fund on Implementation. We will continue to use the resources we have to support States in the most sustainable manner and for greater impact. But to meet the higher demands we are facing for technical support – and to ensure much more widespread implementations of the recommendations of the UPR – we need your financial help.