TOP > Statements and Appeals > HRC structure and NGO participation in HRC

Human Rights Council
Inter-sessional Working Group on Institution-Building, Expert Advice
19 April 2007

Joint Statement by Minority Rights Group International, the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Pax Romana, Lutheran World Federation and the International Federation for the Protection of Ethnic Religious, Linguistic and other Minorities

We welcome the provision in the previous version on the non-paper that permits the expert body to continue working groups which ‘have pending or unfinished work’. We are disappointed that this provision has not been maintained in the current draft.

Both the Working Group on Minorities and the Working Group on Indigenous Populations have been successful in bringing more diverse voices to the United Nations. Minorities and Indigenous Peoples have valuable knowledge on a range of issues that impact on their respective communities and are consequently experts in their own fields. It is crucial that the Human Rights Council continues to receive this expertise in order to enhance its work.

We support the statements of our indigenous colleagues on the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and so we will focus our remaining points on the Working Group on Minorities.

It is estimated that up to 20% of the worlds population belongs to a minority group and for twelve years the Working Group on Minorities has been the only forum at the United Nations where minority representatives can discuss human rights issues of relevance to them and engage in dialogue with States. In addition the Working Group has the crucial task of clarifying conceptual issues relating to minorities, a task which complements and assists the work of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues. Over 100 NGOs supported a joint statement to the Working Group on Minorities in 2006 calling for the continuation and strengthening of a forum for minorities at the UN.

In section 3, it states that the body meets for 10 days per year and that ‘this applies to any working groups established’. This sentences is a little unclear but we are concerned that it means working groups would have to meet within these 10 days and that this may have the effect of hampering the important work of these bodies.

It is unrealistic to expert that the Working Group on Minorities can carry out its mandate of reviewing the implementation of the UN Declaration on Minorities across the whole world, undertake important conceptual work and facilitate dialogue between minorities and states in the extremely limited time which would be available according to the non-paper. We therefore support the proposal of the African Group that the Working Groups meet separately to the expert body.

Finally we have a few short comments on the expert advisory body in general.
On composition of the body, we recommend a hybrid model. This would consist of 10 experts, two from each region with a gender balance. These experts would be assisted in their work by a roster of additional experts who could be called upon depending on the subject under discussion.

We support the EU proposal that civil society has a role in the selection of experts.

Regarding the function of the body, it should advise the council on the promotion and protection of human rights and we support the proposal of the African Group that the advisory body should have the possibility to suggest issues for their work on their own initiative for approval by the Council.