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Universal Human Rights
, 1979, p. 57; N. Rodley, ‘Monitoring
306
i n t e r nat i o na l l aw
Despite good work in the field of standard-setting and in drawing at-
tention to abuses of human rights, albeit on rather less than a universalist
basis, the Commission began to attract an increasing level of criticism,
mainly concerning political selectivity and the failure to review objectively
the situation in particular countries.
216
The High Level Panel on Threats,
Challenge and Change convened by the United Nations Secretary-General
concluded in its Report of 2004 that, ‘In recent years, the Commission’s
capacity to perform these tasks has been undermined by eroding credi-
bility and professionalism.’
217
As a result, the Human Rights Council was
created to replace the Commission by General Assembly resolution 60/251
on 3 April 2006.
The Human Rights Council
The Council was established with a higher status in the UN hierarchy as
a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly with forty-seven members,
218
elected by a majority of members of the Assembly for three years for up to
two consecutive terms. The Commission’s special procedures function was
retained, although all functions and responsibilities of the Commission
assumed by the Council are subject to a review aimed at their rationali-
sation and improvement. A new universal periodic review mechanism by
which the human rights record of all countries is to be examined was also
established. This was intended as a partial response to the criticisms of
Human Rights by the UN System and Non-governmental Organisations’ in Kommers
and Loescher,
Human Rights and American Foreign Policy
, p. 157, and Tolley, ‘Con-
cealed Crack’, pp. 429 ff. Note that the Commission chairman began the practice of
announcing the names of the countries subject to complaints under resolution 1503, al-
though no further details were disclosed: see e.g. E/CN.4/1984/77, p. 151, naming Albania,
Argentina, Benin, Haiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Turkey
and Uruguay.
216
See e.g. the Amnesty International Report, ‘Meeting the Challenge’, AI Index, IOR
40/008/2005.
217
www.un.org/secureworld/report3.pdf, at para. 283. See also the Secretary-General’s
Report, ‘In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All’,
A/59/2005, at para. 182. It was noted that the Commission had been ‘undermined by the
politicisation of its sessions and the selectivity of its work’, A/59/2005/Add.1, para. 2. Note
also, for example, the inability of the Commission in 1990 even to discuss draft resolutions
relating to China and Iraq: E. Zoller, ‘46th Session of the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights’, 8(2) NQHR, 1990, pp. 140, 142. Note also the election of Libya to chair
the Commission in 2003.
218
Distributed regionally with thirteen seats for the African group; thirteen seats for
the Asian group; six seats for the Eastern European group; eight seats for the Latin
American and Caribbean group and seven seats for the Western European and Other
group.
t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f h u m a n r i g h t s
307
the Commission’s selectivity.
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The Council adopted resolution 5/1 on 18
June 2007 entitled ‘United Nations Human Rights Council: Institution-
Building’, which ranged over a wide area and established the details of
the universal periodic review mechanism. The principles laid down for
this mechanism include the universality of human rights, universal cov-
erage and equal treatment of all states and the conduct of the review in an
objective, transparent, non-selective, constructive, non-confrontational
and non-politicised manner. This resolution also laid down details for
the conduct and review of the special procedures, provided for the cre-
ation of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, composed of
eighteen experts serving in their personal capacity, intended to function
as a think-tank for the Council and work at its direction, and provided
for the establishment of a confidential complaints procedure based upon
the mechanism created by ECOSOC resolution 1503 (1970).
220
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