Newsletter
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was first initiated in 1998 by UNESCO. It is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. The date is of particular importance: In the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, an uprising began in today's Haiti that played a crucial role in the abolition of transatlantic slave trade. Every year, cultural activities are organized around the globe to remember this event. UNESCO's "Slave Route" project helps to understand the history of slave trade and therewith fills the silence of the past.
HR Treaty Bodies Newsletter
Check out the latest Human Rights Treaty Bodies Newsletter!
The Newsletter features analysis, interviews, reports from the field and ways to engage with the Human Rights Treaty division of OHCHR.
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BACKGROUND
In June 2007 the Human Rights Council established an Advisory Committee (resolution 5/1) as a think-tank to provide expertise when requested by the members of the Council. The Committee focuses mainly on studies and provides research-based advice. It replaces the former Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, a subsidiary body of the former Commission on Human Rights.
The Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council, also known as CAC, is composed of 18 independent and impartial experts. Each expert serves for a maximum period of six years. Elections and re-elections of experts are held every 3 years. The scope of its advice is limited to thematic issues related to the mandate of the Council: promotion and protection of all human rights. It does not adopt resolutions or decisions, but can propose to the Council suggestions for further enhancing its procedural efficiency, as well as research proposals, within the scope of the work set out by the Council. Member States and observers, including States that are not members of the Council, specialized agencies, other intergovernmental organizations and national human rights institutions, as well as non-governmental organizations, shall be entitled to participate in the work of the Advisory Committee based on arrangements and practices observed by the Human Rights Council. The Advisory Committee meets twice a year for a maximum of ten working days. The committee held its first session from 4 to 15 August 2008 at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva. The following session was held from 26 to 30 January 2009. The members of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council are: Alfonso Martínez, Presidente (Cuba); José Antonio Bengoa Cabello (Chile) Ansar Ahmed Burney (Pakistan); Chen Shiqiu (China); Chung Chinsung (Republica de Korea); Emmanuel Decaux (Francia); Héctor Felipe Fix Fierro (Mexico); Wolfgang Stefan Heinz (Germany); Latif Hüseynov (Azerbaijan); Baba Kura Kaigama (Nigeria); Vladimir Kartashkin (Russian Federation); Miguel Bernards Andrews Nyamwaya Mudho (Kenya); Purificacion V. Quisumbing (Philippines); Shigeki Sakamoto (Japan); Dheerujlall Seetulsingh (Mauritius); Halima Embarek Warzazi (Morocco); Jean Ziegler (Switzerland); and Mona Zulficar (Egypt). The following issues were discussed at the Advisory Committee's second session from 26 to 30 January 2009:
1. Human Rights education and training;
2. Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order: the Advisory Committee will continue its deliberations on this matter at its next session, including by referring to the work that has been already done by the Sub‑Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and any other human rights mechanisms. 3. Missing persons: the Advisory Committee entrusted a panel to prepare a study and report back to the Advisory Committee at its next session; 4. Integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system: the Advisory Committee requested Mr. Ansar Burney, Ms. Chinsung Chung, Ms. Purificacion Quisumbing, Mr. Shigeki Sakamoto and Ms. Mona Zulficar to prepare for the next session a set of draft guidelines on methods to operationalize gender mainstreaming, including action‑oriented mechanisms that would facilitate the implementation of the Committee's mandates; 5. Elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members: a draft set of principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members will be presented for review by the Advisory Committee at its next session in January 2009. 6. Hunger refugees 7. Right to food: during its first session, the Advisory Committee established a drafting group on the right to food, and that the drafting group is to prepare appropriate recommendations for the Advisory Committee session in January 2009. 8. The Advisory Committee designated Committee members Mr. José Bengoa and Ms. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing to follow the work of the Social Forum and to brief the Committee, at its next session in January 2009, on issues of relevance to the work of the Committee. The Advisory Committee also designated the members Ms. Mona Zulficar and Mr. Miguel Alfonso Martinez to follow the work of the forum on minority issues and the expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples, respectively, and to brief the Committee at its next session on issues of relevance to its work. 9. Right of peoples to self‑determination
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