Event information

13 December 2023, 17:00-18:15

Transparency in nominations and elections to UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Towards a New Vetting System?

Event

A session of the UN Human Right Committee A session of the UN Human Right Committee

Online: 17:00–18:15 Geneva time (CET), 11:00–12:15 New York time (EST)

The states parties to the various international human rights treaties nominate and elect treaty body (TB) members from among their nationals. The nominations are compiled by the UN Secretary-General who submits them for consideration to all the states parties to a specific treaty.

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 68/268 (paragraph 13), when nominating independent experts for committee elections, States are encouraged to give due consideration to:

  • Equitable geographical distribution
  • The representation of different forms of civilization and the principal legal systems
  • Balanced gender representation;
  • The participation of experts with disabilities.

The resolution also reaffirms the importance of the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (paragraph 35). All elected members serve in their personal capacity. Underlining the need for independence and impartiality, but also qualification of members, in June 2012, the UN TB Chairs discussed and endorsed the Addis Ababa Guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of UN TBs.

This discussion – co-organized by our Geneva Human Rights Platform with GQUAL, TB-Net, the International Service for Human Rights, the International Disability Alliance and the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Switzerland to the UN in Geneva – will look into election processes for UN TBs, the concrete impact of Feminist Foreign Policy on the nomination and election of TB members, what can we learn from fellow international mechanisms, as well as the inclusion of a vetting process for TBs.

Opening

  • Ambassador Joel Hernández, Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico

Moderation

  • Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director, Geneva Human Rights Platform

Panelists

  • H.E. Jürg Lauber, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva
  • Milica Kolaković Bojović, Member of the Advisory Committee on nominations of judges of the International Criminal Court and Vice-President of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances
  • H.E. Robert Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York
  • Claudia Martin, Independent Panel for the Election of Inter-American Commissioners and Judges, founding member of GQUAL, and Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

 Get Ready: Relevant Links

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

GHRP Annual Conference 2024 News

GHRP Annual Conference 2024 Strengthens Connectivity in a Pressured Human Rights System

25 November 2024

The 2024 Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP), held on 5 November at Maison de la Paix, focused on the theme Human Rights System Under Pressure: A Reason to Expand Connectivity.

Read more

neurotech image News

Research Brief Evaluates the Human Rights Implications of Neurotechnology in Therapeutic and Commercial Applications

27 March 2025

Our research brief, Neurotechnology and Human Rights: An Audit of Risks, Regulatory Challenges, and Opportunities, examines the human rights implications of neurotechnology in both therapeutic and commercial applications.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

surveillance image of people Project

Human Rights in a Digitalized World: Mapping Risk, Strengthening Regulation and Promoting the Development of International Human Rights Law

Started in August 2023

To unpack the challenges raised by artificial intelligence, this project will target two emerging and under-researched areas: digital military technologies and neurotechnology.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more