General sessions of the Human Rights Council
Contents
The UN has a Human Rights Council which meets three times a year. In these sessions, countries which are members of the Human Rights Council discuss human rights issues and reports.
About the Human Rights Council
Members of the Human Rights Council
Organisations that are not part of a government (non-governmental organisations, or NGOs) can be involve in these sessions. They first need to be accredited (registered with the UN) before they can take part. If they want to take part in a session, they must send a letter to the Human Rights Secretariat before the session.
These organisations can be represented in these sessions by people, including refugees and community organisations. They can also make submissions in writing, or make statements, during these sessions. they can also ask to speak to representatives of other countries. Sometimes, they can get a state to make a statement or recommendation in the session. This can bring wider support to the issue.
This guide is published by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
This guide gives participants more information about the Human Rights Council. It is also available in Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian.
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