The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee will hold its twenty-sixth session from 16 to 20 August 2021. The session will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva in Room 20 in a hybrid format – a combination of in-person and virtual participation – due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Over the course of the one-week session, the Committee’s 18 independent experts*, who serve as the Council’s “think tank”, will hold discussions on the reports the Committee recently submitted to the Human Rights Council on a number of mandates that address several human rights themes. These are:
- New and emerging digital technologies and human rights (HRC resolution 41/11);
- Current levels of representation of women in human rights organs and mechanisms (HRC resolution 41/6);
- Situation regarding racial equality in the world (General Assembly resolutions 74/137 and 75/237);
- Negative effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights (HRC resolution 34/8).
During the session, the Committee will also hold a discussion on the follow-up to the recommendations contained in its report on the current levels of representation of women in human rights organs and mechanisms.
Also during the session, the Committee will continue to discuss research proposals to be submitted to the Human Rights Council and reflection papers containing ideas for future work and mandates that could be entrusted to the Committee. The Committee will hold a virtual meeting with non-governmental organizations in this regard on Tuesday 17 August 2021.
Additionally, the Committee is scheduled to appoint new members of the Working Group on Communications to replace those whose terms will expire on 30 September 2021.
The Committee session is open to the media and will conclude with a round-up press release.
Documentation relating to the twenty-sixth session, including the agenda and programme of work, is available on the Advisory Committee’s session webpage.
Background
The Advisory Committee is a body of 18 independent experts serving as a think tank to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). It was established in 2008, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, to provide studies and research-based advice, as requested by the Council and meets twice annually. The Committee’s work is implementation-oriented and follows thematic issues linked to the mandate of the Council, namely, the promotion and protection of all human rights. It interacts with States, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and other civil society representatives.
* The current composition of the Advisory Committee and the term of membership of each expert are as follows: Ibrahim Abdulaziz Alsheddi (Saudi Arabia, 2021); Buhm-Suk Baek (Republic of Korea, 2023); Nadia Amal Bernoussi (Morocco, 2023); Lazhari Bouzid (Algeria, 2022); Alessio Bruni (Italy, 2021); Milena Costas Trascasas (Spain, 2022); Iurii Alexandrovich Kolesnikov (Russian Federation, 2022); José Augusto Lindgren Alves (Brazil, 2021); Xinsheng Liu (China, 2022); Ajai Malhotra (India, 2023); Itsuko Nakai (Japan, 2022); Mona Omar (Egypt, 2022); Javier Palummo (Uruguay, 2022); Elizabeth Salmón (Peru, 2023); Patrycja Sasnal (Poland, 2023); Dheerujlall Seetulsingh (Mauritius, 2023); and Catherine Van de Heyning (Belgium, 2023).