How civil society activists could advocate for human rights at international level?

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03.10.2017

Is that possible for human rights and civil society activists raise voices of those, whose rights are oppressed, to the highest level internationally?

Marcus Brand, UNDP’s Democratic Governance Advisor, believes that the answer is definitely “yes’’! And UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the instrument.

This weekend the Human Rights Information Centre (Kyiv), Human Rights House Foundation (Geneva) and UNDP representatives met with the civil society activists to discuss how non-governmental organizations could advocate and push for positive changes in human rights situation.

Matthew Jones, International Advocacy Officer for Human Rights House Foundation in Geneva, stresses that the Universal Periodic Review was established exactly because the civil society and human rights activists pushed for this for the last 25-30 years. The UPR process is more political than technical. It has a four-year cycle, during which all countries are being reviewed by other UN member states.

In November 2017, it’s Ukraine’s turn to be reviewed by all UN member with regard to the human right situation.

The UPR is the real opportunity to give voice to those whose rights are violated and flag the issue at the highest levels.  Changes at the international level are not easy to achieve, but doable if civil society’s efforts are united and persistent.

The seminar ‘’Opportunities of civil society in the context of Ukraine's passing the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council’’ was held with support of the Human Rights House Foundation, the Center for Human Rights and UNDP in Ukraine.