The 12th session of the Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council’s 12th session will begin on Monday 14th September. The Council session will last for three weeks during which a number of important issues will be discussed.

The EU intends to actively engage in the interactive dialogues with mandate holders both on thematic and country mandates, among others with the special rapporteur on Sale of Children and the independent expert on Somalia who are going to report to the Council this session.

There will also be a half-day panel on migrants in detention centres as well as an annual discussion on the integration of gender perspective in the Council’s work where EU will engage constructively in the discussions with the panellists.

Resolutions will be adopted at the end of the session and the EU will follow a number of them closely, amongst them Freedom of Expression and the prolongation of the country mandates on Somalia and Cambodia.

Throughout the Council session, several EU-statements will be held which will be posted on this website once they have been delivered.

Read the statements

More information about the Council and the 12th session

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Nov 11 2009 Sweden to be reviewed by UN Human Rights Council
In 2006 the UN General Assembly decided that, every four years, the then recently established Human Rights Council in Geneva would undertake a review of the fulfilment by each Member State of its human rights obligations through Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR). Through this procedure the General Assembly has deprived States the right to in any way avoid a review.
Nov 10 2009 New WHO report: “Women and Health: Today’s Evidence Tomorrow’s Agenda”
On November 9, WHO launched a new report on women and health entitled “Women and Health: Today’s Evidence Tomorrow’s Agenda. The Swedish Presidency, on behalf of the EU, conveyed its strong support for this report and expressed its will to work with WHO and other multilateral partners in taking this agenda forward.
Oct 30 2009 Strong EU engagement during UN meeting on possible new international legal standards
The European Union has expressed deep concern over proposals for possible new international legal standards on defamation of religions, presented by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the African Group at the UN in Geneva during the session of the Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards.
Oct 5 2009 UN Human Rights Council calls for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Friday October 2 urged the Government of Burma/Myanmar to immediately release opposition leader and Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in the country. The regime was also urged to create conditions for national reconciliation and for free and credible elections in 2010.
Sep 28 2009 The role of Ombudsmen, Mediators and National Human Rights Institution’s in the UN system
Representatives from the Swedish, Moroccan, French, and Spanish ombudsmen institutions met last week in a side event in relation to the Human Rights Council.
Sep 18 2009 Human Rights Council's 12th session
On Friday September 18 the first week of the Human Rights Council's 12th session was completed. Throughout the Council session human rights issues of great importance have been discussed from different view points and the EU has delivered several statements.
Sep 4 2009 Third World Climate Conference
The Third World Climate Conference (WCC-3) took place in Geneva 31 August to 4 September. The discussions at WCC-3 have been productive and very timely, clearly demonstrating that based on sound scientific information the necessary decisions can be made to tackle the global challenge of climate change.
Aug 28 2009 Social Forum addresses Global Challenges
The annual meeting of Social Forum (under the Human Rights Council) will start on Monday, August 31. UN Member States, observers, international and non-governmental organisations and members from the academic world will, during a three-day session, discuss issues in three different areas:
Aug 18 2009 The second session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)
The second session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) took place from 10 to 14 August in Geneva. The Expert Mechanism is a United Nations mechanism that has been created by the Human Rights Council. It is composed by five experts, and is mandated to provide thematic expertise on the right of indigenous peoples to the Human Rights Council.
Aug 13 2009 The 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949
Aug 6 2009 Welcome Message from Ambassador Hans Dahlgren, Head of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the International Organizations in Geneva
As the Permanent Representative of Sweden and representing the European Union in Geneva during the Swedish EU Presidency, I warmly welcome you to our website.
Jul 27 2009 Humanitarian Resolution Adopted
Last week ECOSOC adopted by consensus a resolution on strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations
Jul 7 2009 AID FOR TRADE: MOBILIZING AID FOR TRADE
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Jul 2 2009 Outcome of the Human Rights Council’s eleventh session
On June 18 2009, the Human Rights Council closed its eleventh regular session, adopting texts on issues including maternal mortality, violence against women, trafficking in persons, the right to education, the effects of foreign debt and the rights of migrants. The Council also established a new mandate of the Independent Expert on human rights in Sudan and an Open-ended Working Group of the Human Rights Council to explore the possibility of elaborating an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Next session of the Human Rights Council will be held in September.
Jul 1 2009 The Swedish Presidency of the EU is launched
Today, the Swedish Presidency of the EU is launched. Now Sweden is in the driving seat of the world's largest integrated economy with nearly half a billion citizens. “It's going to be a very exciting six months, but the task before us is not an easy one. I'm looking forward to tackling the autumn's challenges together,” says Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
Jun 9 2009 Sweden's priorities for the EU Presidency
Sweden takes on the challenge - Fredrik Reinfeldt on Sweden's priorities for the EU Presidency
Jun 4 2009 President of the International Committee of the Red Cross visiting Sweden
Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson today welcomed the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger. The meeting focused on Sweden's role in promoting compliance with international humanitarian law during the upcoming Presidency of the EU and the effects of the global crisis and the fact that the most vulnerable people in the world are the hardest hit by it.
Jun 4 2009 29 May 2009 Carl Bildt: A big step forward for disarmament
"Today a big and very welcome step was taken to move disarmament issues forward," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt.
Jun 4 2009 Committee on the Right of the Child examined Swedish forth periodic report
The 27th May the Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed the fourth report of Sweden on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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