UNSRs Christof Heyns and Maina Kiai open the Member States briefing on the project to develop recommendations for managing peaceful protests

UN Geneva Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room

Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

experts whose expertise is called upon by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. Depending on the specific mandate, there can also be working groups composed of an independent expert from each of the five UN regional groupings: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Western group. Their work falls within the scope of "special procedure" mechanisms under the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

, and their contributions can advance human rights through a variety of activities, including, but not limited to improving access to redress, policy reform, mainstreaming human rights, raising human rights awareness, and acting to prevent or cease rights violations. The mandate by the United Nations has been to "examine, monitor, advise, and publicly report" on human rights problems through "activities undertaken by special procedures, including responding to individual complaints, psychological operations and manipulation via the controlled media and academia, conducting studies, providing advice on technical cooperation at the country level, and engaging in general promotional activities."Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council
". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. ohchr.org. Retrieved 2016-10-27.

Appointment authority

Appointed by the Human Rights Council of the UN, these mandate-holders act independently of governments and as such play an important role in monitoring sovereign nations and democratically elected governments and policies. The earliest such appointment was the 1980 Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances responding to Commission on Human Rights resolution 20 (XXXVI). The first special rapporteur, responsible for monitoring extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, began work in 1982 following the approval of Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1982/35. Rapporteurs do not receive any financial compensation for their work from the United Nations, though they receive personnel and logistical support from the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

and are often backed by charities and corporations. Each year, rapporteurs gather together for an annual meeting in Geneva, where they discuss issues of common interest, coordinate their work and meet with a range of stakeholders, including States and civil society organizations.

Role

Special rapporteurs often conduct fact-finding missions to countries to investigate allegations of human rights violations. They can only visit countries that have agreed to invite them. Aside from fact-finding missions, rapporteurs regularly assess and verify complaints from alleged victims of

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

. Once a complaint is verified as legitimate, an urgent letter or appeal is sent to the government that has allegedly committed the violation. If no complaint has been made, rapporteurs may intervene on behalf of individuals and groups of people of their own accord. Thematic special rapporteurs are typically appointed to serve for three years; after which their mandate may be extended for another three years. Country special rapporteurs are appointed to serve for one year; their term may be renewed every year.

Reception

In June 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council, which replaced the UN Commission on Human Rights, extended the mandates of all special rapporteurs by one year to enable it to conduct a review of the mandates and seek ways of strengthening their roles. However, special rapporteurs for countries which did not approve a special rapporteur came under question and the mandates of the special rapporteurs for Cuba and Belarus were not renewed. Other controversies between the special rapporteurs and the council include the introduction of a code of conduct which initially disallowed the special rapporteurs from addressing the media. However a compromise was reached and a code of conduct now exists for the special rapporteurs. Recently, the funding of the special rapporteurs was also questioned, as several special rapporteurs appear to be partly funded by universities and private actors. The

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

and the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

for instance have granted extensive financial and material support to specific rapporteurs, which could question the independence of their work. Furthermore, 52 of the 222 mandate holders since 2010 exercise, or have exercised responsibilities in the Open Society Foundations or an NGO funded by the Open Society or the Ford Foundation. The Open Society Foundations openly acknowledges that it wanted to influence a special rapporteur in a grant given to The

Center for Women's Global Leadership The Center for Women's Global Leadership, based at Rutgers University, was founded in 1989 by Charlotte Bunch, the former executive director and an internationally renowned activist for women's human rights. Executive Director Krishanti Dharmara ...

in 2017. According to special rapporteurs themselves, this situation is favored by the lack of means provided by the

OHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

. The specific funding of some mandates raises the inequality between them: while some struggle to pay operating costs, others are able to organize conferences across the globe to promote their work.

Current thematic and country mandates

The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council currently oversees 45 thematic and 13 specific country mandates for which it can assign special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups.Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, United National Human Rights Commission, August 17, 2017.

References

External links

Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council
at the