Draft Proposal for a New Human Rights Council Viewed as Strong
03 February 2006

A new draft of the resolution for a new Human Rights Council was circulated at the UN, a significant development in the process to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission, the New York Times reports.  According to the Times article, the new draft resolution was acclaimed by Peggy Hicks of Human Rights Watch, who said, “The new text substantially advances the discussion and gives a good basis to achieve a stronger human rights council, assuming there is a decision to have members of the council elected by a two-thirds majority.”  This key point on how the members will be selected has yet to be negotiated.

The draft resolution would require all countries on the Council would have their rights record reviewed during each term on the council.  The resolution would still allow regions to recommend a slate of countries to serve on the council, although the recommended countries will be voted on under a secret ballot. It is unclear from the article whether or not there will be a requirement for regions to put forward more candidates than there are slots allocated to their region.  This recommendation was part of a letter to the UN that CCD, along with 160 other NGOs, co-signed.  The letter also stated the importance of requiring a 2/3 majority of votes for a seat on the Council

CCD also co-signed a letter with 33 NGOs arguing that the UN Democracy Caucus becomes more active in the promotion and formation of the proposed Human Rights Council.