One of the charter-based bodies is the Human Rights Council (HRC). It is an intergovernmental forum of 47 elected United Nations Member States, responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, and addressing situations of human rights violations with specific recommendations. It meets at the United Nations Office in Geneva ten weeks a year (in three sessions) to discuss all thematic human rights issues and specific country situations requiring attention.
The HRC Complaint Procedure addresses consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of all human rights occurring in any part of the world and under any circumstances. Complaints are submitted by individuals, groups or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that claim to be victims of human rights violations or that have direct, reliable knowledge of such violations. Under the auspice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Secretariat, the procedure is confidential and led by HRC States through the Working Group on Communications and the Working Group on Situations, which can report to the HRC. After examining the report of the Working Group on Situations, the HRC decides on how to proceed.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a State-driven process of human rights review that happens under the auspices of the HRC. The review is based on an interactive dialogue between the State reviewed and the other United Nations Member States. The State reviewed has an opportunity to declare what actions it has taken to fulfil its obligations under human rights law. Recommendations from peers are included in the outcome report, and the State reviewed decides on whether to accept them or not. The report is then adopted at a plenary session of the HRC.
The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council are mechanisms through which independent human rights experts have a mandate to report and advise on human rights. They might do so from a thematic or a country-specific perspective. These experts are unpaid and elected by HRC Member States for 3-year mandates, which can be renewed one time only. In 1999, the HRC appointed a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants for the first time. The rapporteur’s responsibilities include:
- Undertaking country visits;
- Acting on individual cases and issues of a broader, structural nature by sending communications on alleged violations to the concerned State;
- Conducting studies and convening expert consultations;
- Contributing to the development of international human rights standards;
- Engaging in advocacy, public awareness and providing advice for technical cooperation.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants reports to both the HRC and the United Nations General Assembly.