UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré>
16 January 2023
United Nations (UN) Special Procedures are a unique mechanism of independent expert advice and monitoring in the UN human rights system. Less bound by governmental considerations or institutional constraints, they are today the most outspoken players in the system be it on thematic issues or country situations.
Our new working paper Assessment Tool for Special Procedures' Impact Evaluation – Developing an Initial Framework authored by Dr Jonathan Andrews examines how to further develop methodologies to appraise their impact, and which resources might most effectively be deployed to further their work in promoting and protecting human rights.
‘This working paper – which builds on an initial paper published back in 2021 – is part of our initiative that supports the work of UN Special Procedures. It forms part of our work that supports the functioning of the UN human rights system and contributes to a better appreciation of the effectiveness of UN Special Procedures mandates’ explains Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.
‘We will discuss, throughout 2023, with a number of mandate holders and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights secretariat to see how our findings could be integrated into their monitoring of UN Special Procedures’ impact he adds.
Geneva Academy
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
UNIS Vienna/Nikoleta Haffar>
Monitoring and impact assessment involves the regular and systematic assessment of performance, which provides an understanding of the progress of a mandate's programme in relation to planned results from activities.
‘This new publication provides many insights into how impact assessment can assist in identifying issues that may require decisions, actions and interventions to either accelerate progress on existing objectives or respond to new challenges for a particular mandate. Furthermore, the research also highlights scope for longer term strategic planning and capacity building to provide metrics and tools for measuring gains made in human rights advocacy through different interventions’ says the author Dr Jonathan Andrew.
The publication also provides further guidance, by way of recommendations, which can assist mandates as they consider future objectives. In the medium to long term, the research determined that UN Special Procedures should consider how their operations will best be able to exploit advances in information and communication technologies capabilities to facilitate reporting and dissemination of their activities.
Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
The 2022 Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform addressed the issue of digital connectivity in the field of human rights via an expert meeting in the morning and a public discussion in the afternoon.
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We are launching today a one-month crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a scholarship to allow a talented European student with limited means and resources to follow our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace
In this discussion co-organized with the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN in Geneva, the President of Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace Magistrate Roberto Vidal will discuss the challenges and achievements of this body.
Adobe
This IHL Talk will explore various issues related to the potential establishment of a 'Special Tribunal for Aggression' and will discuss whether it is the best or most appropriate option to make sure that the crime of aggression does not go unpunished.
Adobe
This training course will explore the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as with their implementation and enforcement mechanisms; and provide practical insights into the different UN human rights mechanisms pertinent to advancing environmental issues and protecting environmental human rights defenders.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
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.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.
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This project facilitated a multistakeholder consultative process to identify knowledge gaps, generate new evidence and co-design evidence-based tools to support regulatory and policy responses to human rights challenges linked to digital technologies.
Geneva Academy