34/18 Conclusions and recommendations of special procedures Report of the Secretary-General

GE.16-22779(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fourth session

27 February-24 March 2017

Agenda item 2

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Conclusions and recommendations of special procedures

Report of the Secretary-General*

1. The Human Rights Council, in its decision 2/102, requested the Secretary-General

and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue their activities in

accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and

to update the relevant reports and studies.

2. The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2004/76, requested the

Secretary-General to issue annually conclusions and recommendations of the special

procedures so as to enable further discussion of their implementation. The Commission also

requested the High Commissioner to continue to prepare a comprehensive and regularly

updated electronic compilation of recommendations made by the special procedures, by

country, where such did not yet exist. In paragraph 29 of the annex to its resolution 65/281,

the General Assembly provided that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights would continue to maintain information on special procedures in a

comprehensive and easily accessible manner.

3. The Secretary-General draws the attention of the Human Rights Council to the

conclusions and recommendations included in annual reports and the relevant addenda

thereto, submitted by the special procedures to the Council in 2016 at its thirty-first, thirty-

second and thirty-third sessions.1

4. In 2016, special procedure mandate holders presented 134 reports to the Human

Rights Council.

* The present document was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect the most recent

developments.

1 Available from www.ohchr.org.

United Nations A/HRC/34/18

I. Thirty-first session of the Human Rights Council

5. At the thirty-first session of the Human Rights Council, 21 special procedure

mandate holders, including holders of 14 thematic and 7 country mandates, presented their

annual reports:

• Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

• Special Rapporteur on the right to food

• Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the

enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

• Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate

standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders

• Special Rapporteur on minority issues

• Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment

• Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

• Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

• Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international

financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly

economic, social and cultural rights

• Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities

• Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism

• Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy

• Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and

fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

• Independent Expert on the enhancement of capacity-building and technical

cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea

• Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

• Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories

occupied since 1967

6. The Council also heard an oral update from the Special Rapporteur on the situation

of human rights in Eritrea.

7. In addition, special procedure mandate holders presented reports on their visits to 16

countries and territories. The Special Rapporteur on torture presented a follow-up report on

his mission to Ghana.

8. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues also presented a report containing the

recommendations made at the eighth session of the Forum on Minority Issues (24 and 25

November 2015), which dealt with minorities and the criminal justice system.

9. The Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the

enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment presented a summary

report on the expert seminar on the effective implementation of human rights obligations

relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, challenges

thereto and the way forward.

10. The Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international

financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly

economic, social and cultural rights, further presented a final study on illicit financial flows,

human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

11. The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of

association and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

presented a joint compilation report on practical recommendations, based on best practices

and lessons learned, for the proper management of assemblies.

12. The special procedures also presented a report containing communications sent by

all mandate holders between 1 June and 30 November 2015. The Special Rapporteur on the

situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on torture presented reports

containing observations on communications transmitted to Governments and replies

received.

13. The Chair of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures presented a report

on the 22nd annual meeting of special rapporteurs/representatives, independent experts and

the Chairs of working groups of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,

including updated information on the special procedures.

II. Thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council

14. At the thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council, 17 special procedure

mandate holders, including holders of 15 thematic and 2 country mandates, presented their

annual reports:

• Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

• Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest

attainable standard of physical and mental health

• Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers

• Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

• Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

• Special Rapporteur on the right to education

• Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of

opinion and expression

• Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

• Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

• Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children

• Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences

• Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity

• Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice

• Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and

other business enterprises

• Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination,

xenophobia and related intolerance

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus

• Independent Expert on the enhancement of capacity-building and technical

cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

15. In addition, special procedure mandate holders reported on their visits to 22

countries and territories. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary

executions also presented a follow-up report on his mission to Mexico.

16. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions further

presented a revision to the Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-

Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.

17. The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest

attainable standard of physical and mental health presented a study on sport and healthy

lifestyles as contributing factors to the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest

attainable standard of physical and mental health.

18. The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and

other business enterprises presented reports on the Asia Regional Forum on Business and

Human Rights, on the regional consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean on public

policy, business and human rights and on multi-stakeholder action to protect and respect

human rights.

19. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination,

xenophobia and related intolerance presented a report on combating the glorification of

Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that fuel contemporary forms of racism, racial

discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

20. The special procedures also presented a report on communications sent by all

mandate holders between 1 December 2015 and 29 February 2016. The Special Rapporteur

on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special

Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions presented reports containing

observations on communications transmitted to Governments and replies received.

III. Thirty-third session of the Human Rights Council

21. At the thirty-third session of the Human Rights Council, 15 special procedure

mandate holders, including holders of 11 thematic and 4 country mandates, presented their

annual reports:

• Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international

order

• Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally

sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes

• Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples

• Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and

impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination

• Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

• Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and

consequences

• Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the

enjoyment of human rights

• Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation

• Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

• Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

• Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia

• Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic

• Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia

• Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan

22. Special procedure mandate holders also presented reports on their visits to 20

countries and territories. The Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of

violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-

determination further presented a report on its mission to the European Union. In addition

to its annual report, the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances

presented a follow-up report on its missions to the Congo and Pakistan.

23. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention further presented a report containing

revised methods of work.

24. The special procedures also presented a report on communications sent by all

mandate holders between 1 March and 31 May 2016.