The full meaning of UNHRC is United Nations Human Rights Council.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and country-specific situations requiring its attention throughout the year.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
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United Nations: It's a part of the UN system. This means it's governed by the rules and principles of the United Nations Charter.
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Human Rights: The core focus is human rights. The UNHRC is concerned with a wide range of rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
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Council: It's a council comprised of member states. These member states are elected by the UN General Assembly. The composition of the council is based on equitable geographical distribution.
Key Functions and Powers:
- Promoting Human Rights: The UNHRC works to promote human rights education, awareness, and capacity building.
- Investigating Human Rights Violations: It investigates allegations of human rights violations through special procedures, commissions of inquiry, and fact-finding missions.
- Making Recommendations: The UNHRC makes recommendations to states on how to improve their human rights records.
- Universal Periodic Review (UPR): A key mechanism where the human rights records of all UN Member States are reviewed.
- Addressing Human Rights Emergencies: The UNHRC can hold special sessions to address urgent human rights situations.
Criticisms:
The UNHRC has faced criticism over the years, including concerns about the membership of countries with questionable human rights records and perceived biases in its resolutions.
