The Council has a growing backlog of abuses it must address, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. "Addressing severe abuses shouldn't be put on hold while the Human Rights Council finds its way," said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director of HRW.
"Dozens of appalling situations the world over demand the Human Rights Council's immediate attention. Human rights victims and defenders deserve better from the council - much better."
In a briefing paper released yesterday, "More Business Than Usual: The Work Which Awaits the Human Rights Council," HRW profiled serious human rights situations in 26 problem countries from Afghanistan to Iraq and from Sudan to Uzbekistan.
HRW noted that the council has taken action regarding only three country situations so far, and called for attention to the many more areas of concern described in the paper.
The Human Rights Council will consider two countries, Uzbekistan and Iran, during this session, both in closed meetings. In Uzbekistan, where security forces slaughtered hundreds of mostly unarmed protesters in Andijan in 2005, no one has been held accountable and a fierce crackdown on human rights defenders continues.
In the last two months alone, authorities have arrested another two human rights defenders on politically motivated charges, raising the number of jailed defenders to at least 14.
In Iran, the number of executions rose by 70 percent in 2006, and more juveniles are executed there than anywhere else in the world. Iranian authorities restrict freedom of expression by closing newspapers and imprisoning writers, journalists and editors, and limit freedom of association by imprisoning peaceful demonstrators, including women's rights protesters, arrested in Tehran ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.
HRW argued that severe human rights abuses in both countries demand the council's continued attention. It called for public consideration of both situations, and for appointment of "special rapporteurs" (independent experts) to report to the council at future sessions on each country.
New UN body
There remains a real possibility that the Human Rights Council, which replaced the much-criticized UN Commission on Human Rights last year, can be a much stronger and more effective institution than its predecessor.
Unlike the commission, the Human Rights Council sets standards for its members to fulfill basic human rights norms. A system of universal periodic review - whose final details will be agreed by the end of June - will mean that the human rights records of all countries, even the most powerful, will be reviewed.
Some governments have sought to weaken the system of "special procedures," including the special envoys known as rapporteurs, who report on particular themes or on individual countries.
The council meets for a minimum of 10 weeks in sessions held throughout the year. Under the old system, with the commission holding only one session a year in the spring, abuses like the Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan, which took place in May 2005, would not be discussed for nearly a year. (EÜ)
