Glossary

ratifying a treaty.

describe the various clauses that make up Conventions and Covenants.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to a fair trial.

that oversee the implementation of the six human rights treaties: the Human Rights Committee, the Committee against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.

is considered by many to be the most important of the committees, although it is not the oldest committee. The Committees are serviced by six Secretaries in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Commission on Human Rights.

Torture reports to the Commission.

regularly work with the UN can apply for recognition as an NGO that the UN will consult about human rights matters. Some UN bodies, such as the Commission and Sub-Commission, only allow NGOs with consultative status to have access to them. See Appendix A for a list of NGOs in Britain and Ireland with consultative status.

Council for Civil Liberties is a member of the International Federation of Human Rights, an NGO with consultative status at the UN. Their counterpart in Northern Ireland is the Committee on the Administration of Justice.

appointed by a human rights body to report on the human rights situation in a given country, either because that country’s human rights record is giving cause for concern, or because that country’s record is due for examination after submitting a periodic report. The Country Rapporteur is normally a member of the body itself. Confusingly, Special Rapporteurs of the Commission can also be appointed to oversee the human rights situation in a particular country.

Peter Burns was one of two Country Rapporteurs on the UK when the Committee against Torture met in November 1995.

rights treaties made to expand upon the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the other is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

self-determination appears in both Covenants.

treaties that spell out detailed rights. The four conventions covered by this guide are those against torture, racial discrimination, and discrimination against women and for the protection of the rights of the child.

Committee against Torture considered the UK’s second periodic report on its observance of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.

statements adopted by the various UN bodies. They are essentially statements of intent. They lay down human rights standards and they frequently lead to the drawing up of basic principles or rules and/or the appointment of a Special Rapporteur.

declarations is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

refer to those representing the government before UN bodies. NGOs may think of themselves as delegates, but are usually referred to as representatives.

made up of civil servants, whereas Ireland sometimes sends the relevant government minister.

rights which involve basic freedoms that are held to be inherent, such as freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and freedom of association.

union is a fundamental freedom arising from the right to freedom of association. · The Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects human rights and fundamental freedoms.

out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. These rights include what are commonly called civil liberties (i.e. civil and political rights such as the right to vote), as well as economic and social rights and fundamental freedoms.

right to a fair trial, and the right to adequate health care are all human rights.

protect the human rights of others or campaign on human rights issues.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission are human rights defenders.

practice, applied.

rights instruments such as the Convention against Torture are the responsibility of governments.

describe meetings that take place between sessions.

has an annual inter-sessional meeting between Sub-Commission meetings.

covers all the different documents that embody human rights standards: Declarations, Covenants, Conventions, Basic Principles, etc.

rights instruments are explained in the human rights machinery of the un.

authority given to a body or officer to carry out their functions. The mandate is usually specified in a resolution passed by the authorising body.

on Violence against Women was created by a resolution of the Commission passed in 1994.

who belong to the UN.

State in 1992.

Member State by a UN official. The word is also used to describe the offices maintained by member states in Geneva and New York.

the Independence of Judges and Lawyers undertook a mission to the UK in 1997.

organisation. This includes voluntary groups, community groups, pressure groups, campaigns, charities, trade unions, and virtually any other group that is not part of the government. It does not include commercial organisations, although a group representing, for example, small businesses would be recognised as an NGO. It also probably does not include quangos appointed by the government, such as the Commission for Racial Equality. French and Spanish speakers refer to NGOs as ONGs.

independent information concerning the human rights situation in a country. · Irresponsible NGOs can get others a bad name. · British Irish rights watch is an NGO but the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is not.

within the UN in Geneva that deals with human rights.

Committees and Working Groups and the Assistants to the Rapporteurs all work in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. · Mary Robinson is the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

human rights instrument that States Party can ratify if they wish to, but do not have to do so. The term usually applies to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which allows individuals to complain to the Human Rights Committee about their government’s failure to respect or implement the Covenant, but optional protocols to other treaties also exist.

Optional Protocol, but the UK has not. · The Commission is discussing a draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights.

a government to one of the Committees that monitor human rights treaties explaining how it has implemented the relevant Convention or Covenant. Such reports are made at regular intervals, usually every 2, 4 or 5 years.

periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination every 2 years.

describe a meeting that takes place before the start of a session.

has a pre-sessional meeting to discuss the questions it will put to governments appearing before it at the next-but-one session.

procedure for complaining about consistent patterns of gross human rights violations - see making a complaint under the 1503 procedure.

invoked against many countries.

is usually a member of a Committee or Working Group who has been delegated to report to that body on a particular matter. See also Special Rapporteur and Country Rapporteur.

appoints one of its members to act as its Rapporteur on complaints under the Optional Protocol.

whereby a government agrees to be bound by a human rights treaty.

Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992.

reality. When a human right is implemented so that people can actually enjoy it, it has been realised.

advanced than others in achieving the realisation of economic and social rights.

Usually used to describe the whole period of days or weeks during which a particular committee, working group, or other UN body meets. Sessions are often described numerically, to indicate how often the particular body has met since it was set up. Confusingly, the three-hour long sittings of such bodies each morning and afternoon are also often referred to as sessions.

of the Commission on Human Rights took place between 19 March and 27 April 1999. · The press release for the morning session of the Human Rights Committee will be available at the afternoon session.

appointed to report to a human rights body, usually the Commission and sometimes the Sub-Commission, on a particular issue or country. The Special Rapporteur will usually be a human rights expert who either serves on the body itself or is appointed by the body.

serviced by Assistants in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Representative is very like a Special Rapporteur, but is appointed by the Secretary-General to the UN rather than by the Commission or Sub-Commission.

Representative on Human Rights Defenders.

that has become a party to (agreed to be bound by) a UN treaty.

the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights - see table.

composed of 26 human rights experts and it reports to the Commission.

from an NGO describing human rights violations.

to the UN concerning human rights violations in Northern Ireland.

working groups and rapporteurs investigate particular themes or topics within human rights, such as the disposal of toxic waste or the rights of minorities. Their mandate is described as thematic, as opposed to country-specific. Some have an investigative role, which means that they not only report to their parent body within the UN, but that they can actively examine complaints by raising them with the government against which the complaint is made.

Religious Intolerance has a thematic mandate, but the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Racism is confined to submitting a report.

which have the status of international treaties. They include the two Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and the four Conventions against torture, racial discrimination, discrimination against women, and on children’s rights. The Committees that monitor these treaties are often referred to as being treaty-based or treaty-monitoring bodies, or simply as treaty bodies.

· The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most recent of the treaties (1990).

contravention, infraction, infringement. Any failure to uphold a human right, or any denial of that right, is called a violation.

of the UN is designed to deal with human rights violations.

made up of five or more members of a human rights body, appointed to investigate or study a particular country or human rights issue, or to draw up new sets of standards. Some report to the Commission and some to the Sub-Commission.

Contemporary Forms of Slavery reports to the Sub-Commission.