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Mr President
Canada, Australia and New Zealand believe that the new Human Rights Council must find new and creative ways through enhanced cooperation and dialogue to ensure it has a direct, concrete and positive impact on promotion and protection of the rights of people around the world.
A significant innovation and tool of the Council that will help to focus on implementation and tangible results is the Universal Periodic Review mechanism through which the human rights records of all UN member states will be considered fairly and equally.
The members of the Council have committed themselves to uphold the highest standards of human rights and cooperate fully with the Council, including having their own human rights records reviewed during their term of membership though Universal Periodic Review.
The main objective of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) must be to improve implementation of human rights obligations, standards and commitments by all Member States. The UPR, while offering an opportunity for scrutiny and a frank dialogue amongst peers, should be conducted in a constructive and transparent manner. It should also assist us in identifying needs and opportunities to support interested states with technical assistance and capacity development. To be effective and manageable, it should not be overly cumbersome for the Council, the Secretariat nor for Member States. The reviews should take place inter-sessionally in multiple sub-chambers and their results should be considered at the subsequent Council session. It should, in keeping with the guidance provided by GA 60/251 have for members a periodicity of approximately every three years. It should not replace nor duplicate existing mechanisms, such as treaty bodies or special procedures. Rather, the UPR should complement these other mechanisms. It should be different, bring value-added, and capitalize on the information and work of these other mechanisms.
There is an emerging consensus that the Human Rights Council should, as a priority, take a decision at this session on the establishment of an appropriate mechanism to develop the modalities for the universal periodic review, as called for in GA 60/251. In our view, there is a need for a structured, yet flexible mechanism which would allow sufficient time and flexibility for the development and consideration of this key new aspect of the Council. We call for open and transparent, informal and formal consultations with all stakeholders. Inclusiveness and transparency must be a hallmark of the UPR from the outset. The Human Rights Council should be updated regularly and have an opportunity to debate the modalities of the UPR.
A final report setting out the agreed modalities and time allocation for the UPR should be submitted to the Council as soon as possible leaving time and resources for the many other decisions we must make relating to the Council’s work in its first year.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand will work constructively with all stakeholders in the coming months to establish a strong Universal Periodic Review Mechanism that follows the letter and the spirit of the General Assembly mandate for a truly universal, transparent, effective and efficient mechanism to enhance implementation of human rights.
