human rights council
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Unprecedented use of excessive force against peaceful protests
Statement at the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
The meaningful participation of people in governance is essential for securing human rights, social stability and peace. We share your alarm at the deterioration of civic space and we call on members and observers of the Human Rights Council, over the coming weeks, to listen to the voices of those who are the most affected by the decisions made in this room.
We have witnessed popular action increase across the globe as people take to the streets to demand justice, equity and democratic rights. We are alarmed by the unprecedented use of excessive force and arbitrary detention to silence the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of assembly. In 2019, the CIVICUS Monitor found that one of the most commonly logged violations of civil society rights was against the right to peaceful assembly.
High Commissioner, we share your serious concerns on India, particularly the discriminatory citizenship law and the violent repression of protests with impunity. In Iran, hundreds of people were killed when security forces unleashed lethal force against unarmed protesters in cities across the country. In Iraq, para-military forces fired live ammunition during protests throughout the country in 2019, killing and injuring hundreds of peaceful demonstrators.
Finally, High Commissioner, heard throughout the high-level segment commitments made by states to strengthen the Council’s prevention mandate. We have seen time and time again that unwarranted restrictions on civic space, including crackdowns on peaceful protest and attacks against human rights defenders, enable wider human rights violations. The actualization of an early warning system, which takes restrictions of fundamental freedoms into account, would send a clear signal that the Council stands ready to protect, promote and fulfil the right to protect around the world.
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Upholding fundamental rights is crucial for global crisis response
Joint Statement at the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Madame High Commissioner,
Thank you for your timely report. This is a statement on behalf of the Civic Space Initiative, including CIVICUS, Article 19, ICNL, ECNL and the World Movement for Democracy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated existing challenges to civic freedoms.
The CIVICUS Monitor shows that it has exacerbated the ongoing use of restrictive laws; restrictions on funding; reprisals, attacks and acts of intimidation; the ongoing violent repression of mass mobilisations for change; and the wilful exclusion of civil society from decision making processes. It has provided cover for executive overreach and spurred new growth in the use of surveillance technologies. According to ICNL-ECNL’s Civic Freedom Tracker, at least 145 countries have enacted 280 measures in response to COVID that further affect civic freedoms and human rights.
But it has also revealed the centrality of civil society in crisis response: in providing critical information and services to communities, running feeding schemes and health screenings, providing aid and monitoring abuses.
Civil society has again proved itself to be an integral stakeholder. And time of crisis is a time of opportunity. As has been so often said, this is the time to build back better.
We have seen many examples of good practice to draw on. Several States are developing specialised online platforms for better consultation on emergency measures. Others are establishing oversight bodies inviting the public to share views on the measures governments have taken, or conducting surveys to gauge public response on government handling of the crisis.
We call on all States, in their response to the crisis, to:
- Create avenues for inclusive participation and feedback and reach out to those most at risk and those most likely to be excluded.
- Ensure transparency and access to information to enable civil society to respond with the most accurate information available.
- Ensure that existing channels of civil society participation, at local, national and international levels are maintained – and possibly expanded – in the COVID-19 context.
- Undertake thorough human rights impact assessments to ensure that measures and actions in response to the crisis do not infringe human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We have seen time and time again positive change emerge when people are able to organize, speak out and take action. A strong and vibrant civil society is a core pillar of a thriving democracy. We must not allow emergency responses to undermine democratic gains.
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Uyghur Violations a Litmus Test for Global Governance and Rules-Based International Order
By Mandeep Tiwana, Head of Programs and United Nations Representative at CIVICUS
This week is a momentous one for the world’s premier human rights body. At stake is a resolution to decide whether the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva can hold a debate on a recently released UN report. The report concludes that rights violations by China’s government in its Xinjiang region ‘may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity’.Unsurprisingly, China’s government is doing everything in its power to scotch plans for a debate on the report’s contents. Its tactics include intimidating smaller states, spreading disinformation and politicising genuine human rights concerns – the very thing the Human Rights Council was set up to overcome.
The historic report, which affirms that the rights of Xinjiang’s Uyghur Muslim population are being violated through an industrial-level programme of mass incarceration, systemic torture and sexual violence, attracted huge controversy before it was released on 31 August 2022, minutes before the end of the term of the outgoing High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.
Read on Inter Press Service
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Uzbekistan at UN Human Rights Council: Adoption of Universal Periodic Review Report
The Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, International Partnership for Human Rights and CIVICUS welcome the government of Uzbekistan’s engagement with the UPR process, including its decision to accept over 200 recommendations on a range of human rights issue.
While we note the release from detention of 28 activists, political opponents and journalists in the last two yars, as well as the authorities’ steps to allow for greater independent dissent, we regret that freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association remain willfully suppressed by the State limited. Of the 28 people released in the last two years, many remain under surveillance. According to human rights monitors, at least five people remain behind bars for exercising their right to freedom of expression. We are concerned that since 25 August 2018 at least twelve bloggers have also been detained in connection with posts they made on social media.
We regret that national legal mechanisms remain partial and subject to political interference. Courts continue to place arbitrary restrictions on protests, including rulings that unwarrantedly limit people’s support for demonstrations off and online under the guise of incitement to public disorder. During detention, torture is frequently used and procedural rights for detainees are often disregarded. Those who submit written complaints to the President or speak to the press are sometimes added to the “black list” of people deemed “undesirable” and are denied freedom of movement.
We regret that tight state controls on CSO registration, funding and activities, coupled with ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression, prevent independent media outlets and human rights CSOs s from operating unencumbered .
Although some activists have been allowed to travel abroad in recent months, restrictions on international travel remain in place for other human rights defenders.
Mr President, we call on Uzbekistan to implement recommendations it accepted on promoting the right to freedom of association and participation in public affairs to lift prohibitive registration requirements of CSOs, to ensure CSOs and journalists can fully exercise their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and to create a safe environment for human rights defenders, including for women human rights defenders.
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Venezuela failed to implement over 80% of UN recommendations on civic rights
International human rights groups raise alarm about the state of civic rights in Venezuela ahead of the country's review at the United Nations Human Rights Council on 25 January, 2022.
CIVICUS, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (REDLAD) and Espacio Público call on UN member states to urge the government of Venezuela to protect civic freedoms as its human rights record is examined by the UN Human Rights Council on 25 January 2022 as part of the 40th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The last time the country’s rights record was reviewed was in November 2016, when UN member states made a total of 274 recommendations, 40 of which related to civic freedoms. Venezuela subsequently accepted 23 recommendations and committed to taking concrete measures. Among these measures, to “fully guarantee freedom of expression and free access to information and protect journalists against threats and attacks” and to ensure “a proportional use of force by security forces and ensure that cases of torture are investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
In a joint submission to the Human Rights Council this UPR cycle, our organisations assessed the implementation of these recommendations and compliance with international human rights law and standards over the last five years. The submission found that since 2016, Venezuela has persistently failed to address unwarranted restrictions on civic space, particularly those related to the rights to the freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression. Of the 40 recommendations received, Venezuela only partially implemented seven and did not implement 33.
We are deeply concerned by the restrictions facing civil society organisations, particularly those working on humanitarian and human rights issues. Judicial persecution and financial restrictions against civil society, rights defenders and journalists have intensified, combined with a stigmatising discourse that seeks to justify attacks against the legitimate exercise of the freedoms of association and expression. We are also alarmed by the continuing systematic suppression of peaceful protests.
The 2017 Anti-Hate Law for Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance uses vague wording about ‘hate’ offences to give the government ample power to censor dissent and curtail independent media. It has been used to criminalise peaceful protests and prosecute human rights defenders, civil society activists and journalists. Since the law was enacted, at least 42 people have been prosecuted under its provisions, including HRDs, journalists, protesters, healthcare workers and individuals who expressed dissatisfaction on social media.
The operation of civil society organisations is restricted through a repressive regulatory framework and a hostile environment. The 2010 Law for the Defence of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination remains in force, bans organisations working on promoting and protecting political rights from receiving foreign funding. In 2020 and 2021, authorities created additional registration and reporting requirements that create bureaucratic hurdles for organisations and restrict their operation.
Despite commitments to freedoms of expression guaranteed in the Constitution, the government has also continued to use restrictive laws such as criminal defamation provisions under the Penal Code to criminalise criticism of the authorities. Tactics to curtail independent press such as financial strangulation, cancellation of broadcasting licences, equipment confiscation, and censorship are widespread.
‘States must take the opportunity of Venezuela’s human rights review to hold the government to account for violations. The authorities have not only failed to deliver on the human rights commitments it made but has continued to use the judicial system to silence dissent,’ said David Kode, Advocacy & Campaign Lead at CIVICUS
Between 2016 and 2020, Venezuela has experienced waves of mass demonstrations and frequent localised social protests demanding a range of rights. These were invariably met with brutal repression, including widespread and systematic excessive use of force by security agents against protesters. In 2017 alone, at least 120 people were killed and 5,000 detained in the mass protests sparked by a constitutional crisis after the government and the country’s highest court disavowed the National Assembly. In this period, the response to protests was characterised by a pattern of violations that included arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.
‘It is time for Venezuela to take action to reverse this environment of violations. The authorities must stop creating a legal framework that suppresses the defence of human rights,’ commented Ángela Rodríguez, Research Assistant at REDLAD.
As highlighted in our joint submission, CIVICUS, REDLAD, and Espacio Público urge states to make recommendations to Venezuela, which, if implemented, would guarantee the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, and the state’s duty to protect.
Key recommendations that should be made include:- Cease actions to suspend and close civil society organisations and remove all undue restrictions on their ability to receive international and domestic funding.
- Provide civil society members, HRDs and journalists with a safe and secure environment to carry out their work and ensure that they can carry out their legitimate activities without fear or undue hindrance, obstruction, or legal and administrative harassment.
- Review and amend laws to remove undue restrictions on civil society and the press, including the Law for the Defence of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination and Penal Code articles on criminal defamation
- Repeal the Anti-Hate Law and immediately and unconditionally release all those detained under the law for exercising their fundamental rights.
- Reinstate all media outlets that have unwarrantedly been closed and cease practices of confiscating equipment and materials and censoring media.
- Immediately and impartially investigate all instances of extrajudicial killing and excessive force committed by security forces in the context of protests. Provide recourse to judicial review and effective remedy to victims.
The examination of Venezuela will occur during the 40th Session of the UPR. The UPR is a process, in operation since 2008, which examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States every four and a half years. The review is an interactive dialogue between the State delegation and members of the Council and addresses a broad range of human rights topics. 11 other countries will also have their rights record reviewed, including Haiti, Syria and Zimbabwe. Following the review, a report and recommendations are prepared, discussed and adopted at the following session of the Human Rights Council (June 2022).
Civic space in Venezuela is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
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Venezuela: Continúan las ejecuciones extrajudiciales. Presentación de pruebas ante las Naciones Unidas.
Declaración en el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU - 46º período de sesiones;
Agradecemos a la Mision de Determinacion de los hechos por esta oportuna actualización, que asegura que la situación de derechos humanos en Venezuela continúe siendo documentada oportunamente. La Oportunidad de sostener espacios de diálogo más frecuentes ayuda a garantizar un seguimiento independiente y continuo de la implementación de las recomendaciones anteriores.
A pesar de las reiteradas condenas de organismos e instituciones internacionales, las ejecuciones extrajudiciales continuan en Venezuela. Expresamos nuestra preocupacion por los recientes hechos ocurridos en La Vega ,Caracas, donde al menos 650 agentes de las fuerzas de seguridad venezolanas fueron desplegados debido a presuntos enfrentamientos entre pandillas y policías. Al menos 14 personas fueron asesinadas durante la operación. Las organizaciones de derechos humanos refutan enérgicamente que las muertes fueron el resultado del enfrentamientos. Las pruebas y los testimonios de testigos muestran que en su mayoría fueron ejecuciones extrajudiciales.
Además, la situación del espacio cívico continúa deteriorándose. En medio de la pandemia, las protestas no cesaron. Las organizaciones locales documentaron 412 incidentes en los que manifestantes fueron reprimidos por fuerzas de seguridad pública y grupos paramilitares en 2020. Al menos 415 personas fueron detenidas y 150 heridas. Esto refuerza el patrón de represión y uso excesivo de la fuerza contra quienes toman las calles para reclamar sus derechos.
Continúa la criminalización de defensores de derechos humanos. Estamos profundamente preocupados por la detención de activistas de Azul Positivo, una organización humanitaria que ha estado brindando ayuda humanitaria a comunidades vulnerables en Zulia, particularmente a personas que viven con el VIH / SIDA.
La rendición de cuentas y el fin de la impunidad son fundamentales para proteger a las personas que trabajan en el pais. Le pedimos a la Mision cómo los estados miembros del Consejo pueden apoyar al pueblo de Venezuela impulsando procesos de rendición de cuentas.
El CIVICUS Monitor califica el estado de las libertades cívicas en Nicaragua como REPRESIVO.
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Venezuela: Continued deterioration of human rights
Statement at the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
CIVICUS thanks the High Commissioner for her report, which shows the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Venezuela and lack of effective implementation of the recommendations made in the last report.
We are deeply concerned about recent legislation that unduly restricts the right to association in Venezuela. A new ordinance of May 2021 introduces concerning elements which may be used to criminalise civil society work. A new draft law introduced in the National Assembly would limit international funding to civil society. This legislation would continue to restrict the operation of CSOs in the country, and would particularly have a devastating impact on those organisations working to provide much needed humanitarian assistance in the country.
Restrictions on freedom of expression continue in Venezuela, with recent examples of attacks against media outlets like the raid and seizure of newspaper El Nacional and the case of CNP in Sucre whose office was set on fire. Digitals attacks continue to increase in the country with 153 media outlets affected by digital censorship in Venezuela in 2020.
As people continue to take to the streets in the context of a terrible socioeconomic situation, security forces continue to use excessive force against protesters. Local organisations reported that during the first trimester of 2021, 23 demonstrations were repressed, andone person killed.
We echo the High Commissioner’s remarks in her March statement that ‘shrinking civic space has ‘a paralysing effect on all those engaged on legitimate and essential activities’. We ask the High Commissioner in the context of her ongoing reporting to set out concrete ways in which the international community can support those on the ground.
Civic space in Venezuela is rated Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor.
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Venezuela: Extrajudicial killings continue, evidence presented to the UN
Statement at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
We thank the Fact-Finding Mission for this timely update, which ensures that the human rights situation in Venezuela continues to be promptly documented. We welcome more frequent spaces for dialogue to ensure ongoing independent monitoring of the implementation of previous recommendations.
Despite repeated condemnation by international organizations and institutions, extrajudicial executions continue in Venezuela. We are deeply concerned by the recent events in Las Vegas, Caracas, where at least 650 agents of Venezuelan security forces were deployed due to alleged clashes between gangs and police. At least 14 people were killed during the operation. Human rights organizations strongly refute that the deaths were the result of the confrontation. Evidence and witness testimony shows that they were mostly extrajudicial executions.
In addition, the civic space situation continues to deteriorate. Amid the pandemic, protests did not stop. Local organisations documented 412 incidents in which protesters were repressed by public security forces and paramilitary groups in 2020. At least 415 people were detained and 150 wounded. This reinforces the pattern of repression and excessive use of force against those who take to the streets to demand their rights.
Criminalizacion of human rights defenders continue. We are deeply concerned about the detention of activists from Azul Positivo, a humanitarian organisation that has been providing humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities in Zulia, particularly people living with HIV/AIDS.
Accountability and an end to impunity is key to protecting those on the ground. We ask the FFM: what should be the priorities of member states of this Council in combatting impunity?
Civic space in Venezuela is rated as Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor
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Venezuela: Restrictions to civic space continue unabated as government defies commitments
Statement at the 50th Session of the Human Rights Council
Adoption of the UPR report of Venezuela
Delivered by Carlos Correa, Espacio Público
Thank you, Mr President.
Over the past five years, Venezuela promoted unjustified restrictions on civic space, including the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Of the 40 recommendations received in 2016, it partially implemented 7.
Space for civil society has been repressed. Despite accepting recommendations to guarantee freedom of expression online, restrictions continue. Venezuela committed to ensure the work of journalists, human rights defenders and humanitarian workers, but judicial persecution remains common. Authorities adopt a disqualifying discourse that seeks to justify attacks on the exercise of freedom of association and expression.
Today at least 45 news portals are blocked in Venezuela. Between January and April of this year 2022, 43 journalists were victims of illegitimate restrictions to do their work. While this UPR process was ongoing, a bill was announced to control international cooperation funds. In the last year, at least 8 human rights defenders have been detained and criminal proceedings are ongoing against them.
We regret that Venezuela accepted 27 of the 53 recommendations it received on civic space during this third cycle.
Mr President, Espacio Público and CIVICUS call on the Government of Venezuela to take concrete steps to address these concerns, including by repealing undue legal restrictions on civil society and the press, reinstating media outlets unwarrantedly closed, ceasing censorship practices, and by releasing all those detained for defending human rights and expressing themselves.
Thank you very much.
Civic space in Venezuela is rated as "Repressed" by the CIVICUS Monitor
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Venezuela: Serious human rights violations continue during COVID-19
Statement at the 45th Session of the UN Human Rights Council -- delivered by Marsyabel Rodriguez from Espacio Público
Interactive Dialogue on the fact-finding Mission on Venezuela.
From the Venezuelan organisation Espacio Público and on behalf of the victims we support, we would like to thank the work of the Fact-finding Mission in its first report. This work was carried out with important challenges, such as the State's refusal to collaborate and the ban on access to the country and the limitations imposed by the pandemic.
However, the victims were heard and recognized, which reduces the strength of the mechanisms of impunity, contributes to overcoming collective fear and makes possible paths of justice and reparation.
Many of the documented violations are associated with the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, participation, association, and peaceful assembly.
Cases of serious human rights violations continued during the Covid-19 pandemic. The recent pardons do not constitute a structural improvement; there are still illegitimate judicial proceedings, disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and politically motivated persecution in a pre-electoral context.
The Venezuelan situation demands that the universal system for the protection of human rights contribute to the reversal of impunity in order to increase the defense and protection of the dignity of persons.
We urge the Council to renew the mandate of the Mission; the systematic violation of rights persists in the country. Venezuela needs to hear loud and clear from the universal community of human rights.
Civic space in Venezuela is rated as Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor
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Venezuela: the lack of guarantees for fundamental freedoms requires the Council's continuous scrutiny
Statement at the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner oral update on Venezuela
Delivered by Marysabel Rodríguez,
Thank you Mr President,
In Venezuela there are no guarantees for freedom of expression, peaceful protest and the right to association. Violations of civil liberties affect demands for economic and social rights.
In 2022, at least 80 radio stations were closed down by government orders. Arbitrary and non-transparent management by the National Telecommunications Commission has left most radio stations in legal uncertainty for years.
The "anti-hate law" continues to be used against people for expressing themselves. At least 11 arbitrary arrests were recorded last year.
Social protest is repressed. In recent days public workers and teachers have been harassed, dismissed and threatened. Strikes are criminalised; in January, 18 workers of the Venezuelan Guyana Corporation were arrested and prosecuted for demanding better working conditions.
Two legal initiatives to regulate the right of association are advancing. if passed, they will consolidate the criminalisation of individuals, collectives and organisations engaged in social, humanitarian and human rights work. None of the draft laws are publicly accessible nor have they been officially released.
We urge this Council to maintain its attention on Venezuela and we ask the High Commissioner what the Council can do to consolidate OHCHR presence in the country, to support the work of the Fact Finding Mission and any initiative that avoids further restrictions to civic space in the country.
Thank you very much.
Civic space in Venezuela is rated as "Repressed" by the CIVICUS Monitor
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Video Statement Guide: Human Rights Council
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges for NGOs to deliver in-person statements to the Human Rights Council at the Palais de Nations in Geneva. The HRC Secretariat has opened some opportunities for remote participation for civil society, including through delivering video statements for general debates, interactive dialogues, panel discussions, and UPR outcomes (pending further decisions from the Council when the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council opens).
The Secretariat has provided guidelines in its Information Note for registering and uploading video statements, which must be strictly followed. Please see the HRC NGO participation page for the latest version of the Note. This guide can be read in conjunction with the Information Note to help format and edit statements accordingly and avoid any technicalities preventing the statements from being delivered.
Once your organization has registered for an Oral Statement, there are four further steps to take:
- Speaker registration on Indico;
- Recording the statement;
- Editing the statement;
- Creating subtitles; and
- Uploading the statement.
1. Accreditation through Indico
Everyone who delivers a statement via video must be registered on Indico. To register, you will require either a UN grounds pass or an accreditation letter from the organization who registered for the Oral Statement slot to upload on Indico as part of your registration. Registration takes a few days to process so register as early as possible, as the video statement will not be played if the speaker is not registered.
2. Recording the video statement
The video file must keep strictly to official time limits:
- General Debates: 1 min 30 sec
- Interactive Dialogues: 1 min 30 sec
- Universal Periodic Review Outcomes: 2 mins
- Panel Discussions: 2 mins
Before recording your statement, please keep in mind that:
- The video statement must be a single shot of one individual delivering a statement, seated against a neutral, monochrome background
- No symbols, flags, banners or other images are permitted in the shot, either in the background or on the clothing of the person delivering the statement
- The camera should be focused on the speaker’s face and should not move during the shot. Make sure your camera is positioned landscape (horizontally).
- Ensure your statement is within the time limit, preferably a second below.
- Online statements stand and fall with the quality of the audio recording. If your budget allows, buying a microphone can greatly enhance your video statement.
3. Editing the video statement
Once the video has been recorded, check that it aligns with the technical specifications outlined in the Information Note (and below). If not, you can edit the video to fit these specifications. If you have a Mac, iMovie has inbuilt functionality for checking and editing for specifications. If not, we suggest downloading and using two free tools for this: VCL Media Player and DaVinci Resolve 16.
To check the format (MOV, MP4, AVI/WMV), the video encoding, the audio encoding (sample rate), the video resolution and the frame rate: upload your video to VCL Media Player by clicking on Media --> Open File, select your file and click on Open. Click on Tools --> Codec Information (Windows) or Window --> Media Information (Mac).
On iMovie for Mac, choose Share --> Export Using QuickTime; choose the file format you want to export to, and click Options to see the default settings. You can change these settings in the export process.
MP4
Video encoding/codec: H.264
Audio encoding/sample rate: min. 44100Hz
Video resolution: min. 640x480 max. 1920x1080
Frame rate 24, 30 fpsMOV
video encoding/codec: H.264
Audio encoding/sample rate: min. 44100Hz
Video resolution: min. 640x480, max. 1920x1080
Frame rate 24, 30 fpsAVI/WMV
Video encoding/codec: WMV3 (Windows Media Video 9)
Audio encoding/sample rate: min. 44100Hz
Video resolution: min. 640x480, max. 1920x1080
Frame rate 24, 30 fpsFormatting the video statement
If the properties do not match the Secretariat specifications, or if you want to adjust the colour or sound, DaVinci Resolve is a free video editing tool and can be downloaded to allow you to edit your video, adjust sound, resolution and colours. On iMovie, you can change settings when exporting: check this article for more details.
If using VLC/DaVinci Resolve:
- To change the format of your video or video encoding, stay in VCL Media Player, click on Media --> Convert / Save --> Convert / Save. Then, select the profile to which you want to convert your video to and save the new file accordingly.
- To change your audio encoding, upload your video to DaVinci Resolve. For this, click on File --> Import File --> Import Media, select your file ---> Open. Your audio will automatically be upboosted to at least 44100 Hz as required by the Secretariat.
- To change the video resolution, upload your video to DaVinci Resolve. On the bottom right corner of the application, find the project settings. Click on the little wheel. Under Master Settings, you will now be able to change the timeline resolution to fit the Secretariat’s requirements.
- To change the frame rate, upload your video to DaVinci Resolve and open Master Settings as above. Here, you will be able to change the timeline frame rate and the playback frame rate to fit the Secretariat requirements.
- To edit the length of your video to be within the allotted time, upload your video to DaVinci Resolve. Focus on the highlighted area of the screen. You can select your starting and end point of the video by clicking on the timeline. Select your starting point on the timeline and click on the toggle highlighted in the screen shot. To select the end point of your video, select the moment on the timeline and click on the second toggle highlighted in the screen shot. The Secretariat does not allow you to cut your video throughout your statement, you can only edit the end and starting point.
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To export your file: Click on Deliver (the little rocket on the bottom of your screen) and follow the steps in this online guide.
4. Creating subtitles for your video statement
Captioning of the video is strongly encouraged by the Secretariat in order to ensure accessibility of persons with disabilities. Here are practical guidelines to create video captions on YouTube, which can be exported as an .srt file and uploaded separately. iMovie for Mac also has inbuilt subtitle functionality.
If you export your subtitles as a separate file as in the guidelines, you can upload them separately on the registration system.
5. Uploading your video statement
If the properties of your video statement align with the Secretariat guidelines and these technical requirements, and you are happy with how it looks and sounds, congratulations, you are now ready to upload your video directly through the online registration system.
Here, you will need to upload:
- The transcript of the statement;
- A scan of the passport of the speaker;
- The accreditation letter of the speaker;
- The video file.
- If you have exported subtitles separately, you can also upload them as a separate file.
The deadline to upload the video-message is at 6PM on the day prior to the debate (or 6PM on Friday, if the debate is scheduled for the following Monday).
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Wanted: Strong UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
38th Session Human Rights Council
Joint Statement*We want to highlight key features for the next High Commissioner – one of the world’s premier human rights defender – whose mandate includes providing technical assistance and capacity building to States, as well as standing up for universal human rights and those who defend them.
The work of the next High Commissioner, and of human rights defenders more broadly, is essential to justice, fairness and dignity for all. Defenders contribute to sustainable and inclusive development. They combat corruption and the misuse of power. They promote good government, transparency and accountability. They seek to ensure that no-one gets left behind.
Despite this, around the world, defenders face mounting attacks and criminalisation for standing up to power, privilege, prejudice and profit. Their work has never been more important, nor more imperiled.
Mr President, it is in this context we say that the next UN High Commissioner needs to be a dedicated human rights defender. S/he need to be committed to working with and for human rights defenders; consulting and partnering with them, supporting their causes, and speaking out and protecting them when they are threatened or attacked.
The next High Commissioner needs to build strategic alliances with States, civil society, academics and business enterprises with a shared interest in human rights and the rule of law. S/he need to be fiercely independent, but also collaborative and capable of building influential partnerships and coalitions.
With the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights being linked to the attainment of peace, security and sustainable development, the next High Commissioner needs to be strongly supported by the UN Secretary-General and key UN agencies. Mr President, while the High Commissioner may be the UN’s premier human rights defender, it is time for the entire organisation to put human rights defenders up front.
*International Service for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Human Rights House Foundation, The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), CIVICUS, Peace Brigades International Switzerland, International Federation for Human Rights Leagues, Conectas Direitos Humanos, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), West African Human Rights Networks
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Why the Human Rights Council matters to grassroots activists
Ten good reasons for the #US to leave the UN Human Rights Council.
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) June 19, 2018
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(there are none)By Clémentine de Montjoye, CIVICUS
On 19th June 2018, the United States announced it was leaving the United Nations Human Rights Council, citing the foremost international human rights body’s political bias and questionable membership. But as an institution made up of member states, none of which have perfect human rights records, its value is greater than the sum of its parts.
During this session, for example, Eritrea, a country sometimes referred to as the ‘North Korea of Africa’, is on the agenda. For Helen Kidane, an exiled Eritrean human rights activist, this represents a unique opportunity to meet with diplomats and lobby for international action against a repressive government. The Council created a commission of inquiry in 2014 which found reasonable grounds to believe that the Eritrean government had committed crimes against humanity.
"Resolutions may not be always implemented but at least they’ve kept Eritrea on the agenda", Helen told me after the U.S. announcement. "Otherwise it would just be swept under the carpet, and the situation would definitely be worse if no one spoke about it."
While flawed, the Council presents an unequalled platform to raise human rights violations at a multilateral level, enable human rights defenders from the ground to address representatives from 193 countries, and interact with key decision-makers to push for justice.
It has played a key role in shining a light on some of the most egregious human rights violations in the world today. The Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, whose mandate is up for renewal during this session, has been prominent in raising awareness of violations and giving a voice to victims in Eritrea. By allowing its position to be influenced by global political fault lines, the U.S. is also withdrawing its support for victims of oppression.
This vital UN body cannot end conflicts and crises, and as a multilateral institution, regional dynamics and geopolitical manoeuvring will always restrict it. For instance, since the refugee crisis hit Europe and states have been working with repressive governments to repatriate refugees, some have indeed been less inclined to draw attention to human rights violations in Eritrea and other source countries. Eritreans refugees, who flee indefinite military service and face a shoot to kill policy at the border, represented the largest group of African refugees in Europe in 2015.
As is often the case in the microcosm that is the Council, the support we see for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea will be a good gauge of international attitudes towards this pariah state, and how migration policies are affecting them.
But the Human Rights Council is also a place where those who have been persecuted, threatened, arrested, and tortured for speaking out on human rights violations at home can be heard, and sometimes get results. Beyond the politicking and horse trading, this is a place where grassroots activists can make sure that the human suffering they are working to alleviate isn’t reduced to operative paragraphs and resolutions, but that the voices of the victims remain an integral part of the process. By leaving, the U.S. is turning its back on victims and refusing to work with the system to deliver justice for human rights violations.
As we finish our coffee, Helen tells me ‘As a human rights defender I don’t think human rights should be politicised. We can’t escape this but it doesn’t help anyone to disengage like the U.S has done, we need to work to improve the Council from the inside.’ Sadly, the U.S.’s decision to leave creates a vacuum which will likely be filled by traditional backers of national sovereignty like Russia and China who are increasingly working to undermine the legitimacy and substantive work of the Council.
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Yemen: Urgent need to address humanitarian crisis
39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Joint statement during Interactive Dialogue on High Commissioner's Report on YemenUrgent need to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and its impact on the most vulnerable populations: A call for renewal and strengthening of the mandate for the Group of Eminent Experts
This statement is made on behalf of Save the Children and 15 civil society organisations, including organisations
with current operations in Yemen.Fighting around Hodeidah city has increased since early September and throughout the country, the welfare of
at least 8.4 million people on the brink of starvation, including at least 4.2 million children, is at stake. This year
alone we expect some 400,000 children under five to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.Humanitarian access remains extremely challenging with more than 1.4 million people in need of assistance
living in districts with high access constraints [1]. Parties to the conflict continue to deny or delay basic humanitarian
services, access to essential supplies into and within the country.We have repeated on many occasions that the humanitarian situation has escalated to an unacceptable level
of widespread violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Since
June, at least 425 attacks on and military use of schools and hospitals have been documented and verified [2].
450 civilians have lost their lives in the first nine days of August alone [3].We call on Member States to take immediate action to hold all parties to the conflict to account for violations of
international law. In particular, we urge Member States to:- Call on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international law, and take immediate measures to prevent and end violations against civilians, notably children, including by supporting all authorities in Yemen to implement the Safe Schools Declaration and associated Guidelines for Protecting Schools and University from Military Use during Armed Conflict;
- Urgently renew and strengthen the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen;
- Suspend the sale or transfer of arms, munitions and related materials to all parties to the conflict; and
- Engage all parties to the conflict to find an inclusive peaceful, sustainable and implementable political solution that involves women, youth, children, minority groups and civil society.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Action contre La Faim
Danish Refugee Council
Defence for Children International
CARE International
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
INTERSOS
The International Rescue Committee
Islamic Relief
Médecins du Monde
Mercy Corps
Oxfam International
Relief International
War Child UK
ZOA
[1] https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/20180806_humanitarian_update_final.pdf
[2] https://www.unicef.org/yemen/YEM_sitreps_Jun2018.pdf
[3] http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2018/8/5b8503637/unhcr-calls-protection-civilians-fleeing-yemens-al-hudaydah.html -
Yemen: Urgent need to address humanitarian crisis
39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Joint statement during Interactive Dialogue on High Commissioner's Report on YemenUrgent need to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and its impact on the most vulnerable populations: A call for renewal and strengthening of the mandate for the Group of Eminent Experts
This statement is made on behalf of Save the Children and 15 civil society organisations, including organisations with current operations in Yemen.Fighting around Hodeidah city has increased since early September and throughout the country, the welfare of at least 8.4 million people on the brink of starvation, including at least 4.2 million children, is at stake. This year alone we expect some 400,000 children under five to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Humanitarian access remains extremely challenging with more than 1.4 million people in need of assistance living in districts with high access constraints [1]. Parties to the conflict continue to deny or delay basic humanitarian services, access to essential supplies into and within the country.
We have repeated on many occasions that the humanitarian situation has escalated to an unacceptable level of widespread violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Since June, at least 425 attacks on and military use of schools and hospitals have been documented and verified [2]. 450 civilians have lost their lives in the first nine days of August alone [3].
We call on Member States to take immediate action to hold all parties to the conflict to account for violations of international law. In particular, we urge Member States to:
- Call on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international law, and take immediate measures to prevent and end violations against civilians, notably children, including by supporting all authorities in Yemen to implement the Safe Schools Declaration and associated Guidelines for Protecting Schools and University from Military Use during Armed Conflict;
- Urgently renew and strengthen the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen;
- Suspend the sale or transfer of arms, munitions and related materials to all parties to the conflict; and
- Engage all parties to the conflict to find an inclusive peaceful, sustainable and implementable political solution that involves women, youth, children, minority groups and civil society.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Action contre La Faim
Danish Refugee Council
Defence for Children International
CARE International
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
INTERSOS
The International Rescue Committee
Islamic Relief
Médecins du Monde
Mercy Corps
Oxfam International
Relief International
War Child UK
ZOA
[1] https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/20180806_humanitarian_update_final.pdf
[2] https://www.unicef.org/yemen/YEM_sitreps_Jun2018.pdf
[3] http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2018/8/5b8503637/unhcr-calls-protection-civilians-fleeing-yemens-al-hudaydah.html