The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) held its 41st session from 24 June – 12 July. The session saw the Council adopt a number of resolutions to respond to mass atrocities around the world, including in the Philippines, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria. Interactive Dialogues with the International Commissions of Inquiry on Burundi and Syria and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, also provided opportunities to raise awareness regarding ongoing violations and abuses of human rights in those countries.
During the session the HRC renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Eritrea. According to the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, the government has committed “systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations” that may amount to crimes against humanity. These include arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, as well as indefinite conscription into “national service.” Many states have pointed to positive diplomatic developments in the region – including last year’s peace deal with Ethiopia – as a reason to ease scrutiny of the government. However, Eritrea’s human rights practices remain unchanged and the government should now work with the Special Rapporteur to implement critical reforms that would enable Eritreans
to fully exercise their human rights.
The HRC also passed its first resolution on the situation in the Philippines. Since President Rodrigo Duterte took office during June 2016, thousands of people have been extrajudicially executed as part of the so-called “war on drugs.” Over the past three years HRC-appointed human rights experts have formally raised their concerns with the government on 33 occasions. Ahead of the HRC’s 41st session, 11 Special Rapporteurs called on the Council to establish an independent investigation, asserting that “we are concerned over the high
number of killings carried out across the country in an apparent climate of official, institutional impunity.” Although the final HRC resolution did not authorize a monitoring mechanism, it called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to deliver a report on the situation during the Council’s 44th session.
However, HRC member states failed to adequately address the rising risk of mass atrocity crimes in a several countries, including Sudan. Following the 3 June massacre of at least 112 unarmed protestors in Khartoum by the security forces and allied paramilitaries, the HRC
session provided an opportunity to establish an independent international investigative body. Unfortunately, Council members were unable to reach consensus on a resolution.
The HRC’s action on Eritrea and the Philippines, as well as resolutions on the DRC and Syria, highlight the positive role that Geneva-based mechanisms can play in responding to mass atrocity crimes and upholding the international community’s responsibility to protect. For more on the outcomes of the 41st session and to read the two statements delivered by the Group of Friends of R2P, see our Summary.