Statement by the High Commissioner at the Induction session for new Special Procedures mandate-holders

7 December 2016

Distinguished mandate holders,
Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I am delighted to welcome all of you, and to congratulate the new mandate-holders for their recent appointments. My Office is eager to begin assisting your work. The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council bring to the cause of human rights a uniquely penetrative perspective. They raise issues that others have not emphasised or perceived, and they propose recommendations which frequently manifest unusual depth of insight.

The latest appointments bring the number of Special Procedures mandates to 57, with the expert mandate-holders now numbering 80 people. Acting in tandem, you constitute a formidable voice, with the potential to generate powerful advocacy for change. But with this number of mandates, a cacophony of contradictory opinions could significantly undermine the impact of your work. Given the strong probability the Special Procedures system will continue to grow, I encourage you to benefit from the guidance and good practices developed over time by your colleagues, with the support of my Office.

I also encourage all mandate-holders, and especially the Coordination Committee, to think strategically about where and how to strengthen coordination and cooperation. I welcome the Committee's recent efforts to bring greater visibility to the achievements of the Special Procedures system as a whole, and the steps that have been taken towards more joint work by mandate-holders on both thematic and country issues. However, increased effectiveness and visibility also attract heightened scrutiny from States and other stakeholders. Here it is important to consider the system in its entirety. The strengths of the Special Procedures system are its coherence and consistency, including in your working methods and your engagement with States and other stakeholders.

In the coming years I trust you will also be able to deepen your coordination with all other human rights actors of the UN. To take one example, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a powerful opportunity to ensure human rights are better integrated into all development activities – and thus reshape the political, economic, social and cultural landscape in which people live.

On this and many other topics, I firmly believe by working together, international human rights actors can shape real change at the level of people's lives. To do that, we need to both come together and reach out. Most obviously, we need to intensify our efforts to mainstream the drive for change throughout the UN. Whether in development, humanitarian assistance, security, healthcare, the quest for greater justice within and between States is at the heart of the UN Charter. To make their work more inclusive, more sustainable and more effective, all UN entities should be enhancing their focus on human rights issues at the national level, and improving their integration of human rights approaches and goals into their action.

I am heartened to note the strong complementarity of recent work by my Office and Special Procedures on a number of critical topics and urgent situations. For example, on migration, our advocacy has been mutually reinforcing, and I believe that has greatly amplified its impact. The recent move of the Special Procedures Branch to the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division will strengthen this complementarity, by helping us all to develop and draw on information in a more integrated way. As our discussions about the evolution of the Office continue in New York, I will make sure mandate-holders are kept informed about that process.

Among my highest priorities is the need to ensure better cooperation by States with the human rights system, including Special Procedures. At the most recent Council session, I reported on refusals, by an increasing number of Member States, to grant access to the Office and human rights mechanisms. Denial of access suggests there is something very serious being hidden. It will not succeed in deflecting our scrutiny; it should – and will – attract more attention from international human rights actors, not less. Rest assured that I will continue to argue strongly for full cooperation of States with all your mandates, including standing access for country visits.

In recent months, we have also seen a number of challenges to the authority of the Human Rights Council. It will not have escaped you that the Council's creation of Special Procedures mandates has been contested. Fortunately, the legitimacy of the Council's decision-making and its prerogative to establish Special Procedures have been maintained.

However, we continue to operate in a very challenging environment. Despite the growing power and depth of human rights scrutiny, implementation of recommendations made by Special Procedures, Treaty Bodies, the UPR and my Office is at best patchy, and sometimes non-existent. My Office has taken steps to encourage States to implement human rights recommendations, including by working with the UN Country Teams. In addition, we are encouraging establishment of National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow Up. Among other functions, these new national structures are designed to translate international human rights recommendations into domestic action points, and coordinate their implementation.

I also encourage you to reflect on the hundreds of recommendations made by Special Procedures and other human rights mechanisms every year. The more concrete, targeted and achievable these recommendations are, the greater the chance that they will be followed through.

Dear colleagues,

No human rights mandate-holder faces an easy task. In the course of your work, some of you may be personally vilified; all of you will encounter situations of bitter injustice, in the knowledge that your recommendations, no matter how pertinent and profound, will rest on actions by other actors – which may or may not be forthcoming. But as you face these and other challenges, I want above all to assure you that you will receive the strong and consistent support of my Office. In this turbulent period for global affairs, we will stand by you and for human rights.

Thank you