ALHR Newsletters

A Little on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Another UN process in which ALHR is currently having an input is the Universal Periodic Review that assesses Australia?s performance with regard to human rights generally including against international humanitarian law; the Charter of the United Nations; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and human rights treaties like the International Covenant on civil and political Rights and protocols to that and other human rights treaties.

The UPR is a process undertaken by the UNHRC involving a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states on a rotating basis so that every country is assessed every four years.  This involves input from the state under review as to the human rights mechanisms and implementation of human rights protections on the ground.  NGOs and UN bodies will also have the opportunity to provide information regarding the human rights records of the states under review.

Australia is due to be reviewed in late January 2011 and, accordingly, has released the draft national report for consultation.

ALHR made a submission to the government in April, this year which can be viewed here on our activities page. ALHR has worked with other NGOs to produce a response to that draft report and is engaging in further joint activities in the lead up to the review in January.

This is another important activity in which ALHR members can take an active interest.