HRC@20 - Roundtable Standard Setting: From the ICED to the Right to Environment

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) inherited its core standard-setting mandate from the Commission on Human Rights. In its first ever resolution on 29 June 2006, the Council adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, followed by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Over the past two decades, the HRC has played an instrumental role in developing both treaty and non-treaty standards, contributing to major normative achievements such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

This 20th anniversary provides a timely opportunity to take stock of the standard-setting achievements of the HRC and to reflect on its future contribution to the development of international human rights law.

Scope

This event addresses standard-setting as normative development, which includes:

• Legally binding instruments (international treaties).
• Declarative non-treaty instruments.
• Resolutions with innovative normative content.
• More informal processes that provide practical guidance to states.

Objectives

Designed as an interactive discussion among engaged actors, this roundtable aims to:

• Assess the contribution of the HRC to the development of international human rights standards since its inception.
• Identify critical normative gaps in the UN human rights corpus that call for attention.
• Identify key lessons from its first two decades in terms of achievements, impact and challenges.
• Explore future prospects to strengthen its standard-setting role and enhance human rights protection globally.

Participants

To encourage an open discussion, participation is by invitation. Participants will include government diplomatic representatives, UN independent experts, civil society organisations and officials from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Organisers

Geneva Human Rights Hub (GHRH) in collaboration with the International Commission of Jurists, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, the Convention against Enforced Disappearances Initiative, Costa Rica and Slovenia.