UPR Info

UPR Info
Motto Promoting and strengthening the UPR
Founded 2008
Founders Roland Chauville, Jean-Claude Vignoli
Type Non-profit NGO
Focus UPR Mechanism, UN, Human Rights Council, Human Rights
Headquarters 3, Rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 321 77 70
Location
Area served
worldwide
Products Handbooks, Factsheets, Analyses, trainings
Services Pre-sessions, Follow-up Programme, database on UPR recommendations
Method Strengthening national human rights protection systems, supporting governments, institutions, and human rights defenders, leading and participating in coalitions for the UPR
Key people
 Mona M'Bikay - Executive Director
Miloon Kothari – Chair
Website upr-info.org

UPR Info is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) headquartered in Switzerland, with a regional office in Kenya. The organisation main goal is to raise awareness and provide capacity-building tools to the different actors of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, such as United Nations Member States, NGOs, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) and civil society actors. It was established in 2008 and is in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

UPR Info organises "Pre-sessions" before the actual UPRs.[1][2][3] Over the years, the Pre-session project[4] has allowed hundreds of civil society organisations to take part in the largest human rights advocacy platform in the world. UPR Info has released major publications about the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review recommendation, notably in 2014, "Beyond promises: the impact of the UPR on the ground",[5] and in 2016 "The Butterfly effect: spreading good practices of UPR Implementation",[6] widely praised by NGOs,[7][8][9][10] States and institutions.

The material produced by the organisation, in particular its database that includes over 55,000 UPR recommendations,[11] has been used by several scholars[12][13][14] to document the UPR mechanism.

UPR Info launched in 2016, together with CCPR Centre, DOCIP, Huridocs, and Save the Children, an initiative called "We Pay Our Interns[15]" to promote a basic stipend for internships in Geneva. It was quickly supported by dozens of NGOs, exceeding 40 in June 2017.

Founders

UPR Info was founded in 2008 by Roland Chauville.[16] and celebrated in February 2009 its first anniversary of existence [17]. He was joined by Jean-Claude Vignoli at the initial stage of the organisation.

The current executive director is Mona M'Bikay since September 2017[18].

Presidency

From 2011 to 2015, Bertrand Ramcharan was UPR Info's first elected president.[19]

Since 2015, Miloon Kothari fulfils this role.[20]

UPR Info Africa

UPR Info in Africa seeks to effectively improve the human rights situation on the ground by building the capacity of duty bearers and rights holders on the UPR process, guarantee CSO voices are heard throughout the UPR cycle and are put at the center of the human rights response, and ensure UPR Recommendations are being fully implemented following a cooperative approach in Africa.

Since its opening in June 2015, the Africa Regional Office (UPR Info Africa) has been working closely and intensively with community-based human rights defenders and grassroots organizations throughout Africa order to: (1) Engage them effectively in all stages of the UPR by building their capacities, (2) Energize them and build solidarity around a vibrant CSO Coalition, comprising local communities from all human rights sectors and across countries; (3) Empower them to be at the center of the UPR process to guarantee local voices are being heard by governments and foreign diplomats, and to ensure local communities become the agents of change in their country, by providing solutions, bring about change and improve the human rights situation on the ground. UPR Info Africa’s support has been very inclusive to ensure the most marginalized in societies can be part of the UPR process; these include: indigenous peoples, farmers, peasants, women living with HIV, marginalized communities in rural areas, urban poor, migrant workers, victims of human trafficking, LGBTI communities, stateless persons, IDPs, asylum seekers, and refugees.

The regional office works in close relation with governments. It supported the drafting of a UPR implementation plan in Kenya.[21]

Major publications

References

  1. ↑ "Abolitionist NGOs lobby to educate UN member states in Geneva". Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  2. ↑ "Universal Periodic Review: JFI will address the medicalisation of sexual orientation and gender identity at UPR Pre-session". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  3. ↑ "UPR pre-session meeting on Armenia was held in Geneva". Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  4. ↑ "Frequently asked questions - UPR Process pre sessions - frequently asked questions - UPR Steps - English". UPR Info.
  5. ↑ "Beyond promises - The impact of the UPR on the ground" (PDF). upr-info.org. 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Butterfly effect - spreading good practices of UPR implementation" (PDF). upr-info.org. 2016.
  7. ↑ "UPR Info Releases Assessment – Disability Rights Promotion International". Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  8. ↑ "The UPR Mechanism: Delivering Real Change - Universal Rights Group". Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  9. ↑ "Nepal: Zwischen Nothilfe und Neuordnung". Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  10. ↑ "International Bodies and Mechanisms Working on Indigenous Issues". culturalsurvival.org. 2017.
  11. ↑ "UPR Info's Database on UPR recommendations". UPR Info.
  12. ↑ Caruso, Ugo (2014). The United Nations Declaration on Minorities: An Academic Account on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff. ISBN 978-90-04-25155-7.
  13. ↑ Asante, Molefi Kete. Books on Google Play Contemporary Critical Thought in Africology and Africana Studies. Lexington Books. ISBN 9781498530705.
  14. ↑ Mendes, Errol P. (2014). Global Governance, Human Rights and International Law: Combating the Tragic Flaw.
  15. ↑ "We Pay Our Interns". wepayourinterns.org. 2015.
  16. ↑ "Summer interview – Roland Chauville, Executive Director of UPR Info - Genève Internationale". www.geneve-int.ch.
  17. ↑ "UPR Info is celebrating its first year of existence!". upr-info.org. 2009.
  18. ↑ "Mona M'Bikay appointed new Executive Director of UPR Info". upr-info.org. 2017.
  19. ↑ "Former Acting High Commissioner Bertrand G. Ramcharan elected President of UPR Info". upr-info.org. 2011.
  20. ↑ "Miloon Kothari elected President of UPR Info". upr-info.org. 2015.
  21. ↑ "Kenya's UPR second cycle matrix of implementation" (PDF).
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