Menneskerettighedsrådet

The Human Rights Council, or Menneskerettighedsrådet in Danish, is a United Nations intergovernmental body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. It is composed of 47 member states elected by the UN General Assembly. The Council meets in Geneva, Switzerland, and its sessions are dedicated to discussing and addressing human rights violations and situations worldwide.

A key mechanism of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a unique process that involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR aims to improve the human rights situation in every country by providing states with recommendations and opportunities for cooperation.

The Council also addresses specific human rights violations through its Special Procedures, which are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. Furthermore, the Council can establish commissions of inquiry or fact-finding missions to investigate alleged human rights abuses. Its work is guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity.