Quick answer
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the process through which the UN Human Rights Council examines the human rights record of every UN member State, one by one, on a regular cycle. Other States question the State under review and make recommendations, which it either supports or notes. The UPR is a cooperative, peer-review mechanism: its recommendations are not court orders and cannot be enforced directly, but they create a public record against which later progress is measured.
The legal basis
The General Assembly created the Human Rights Council by resolution 60/251 (15 March 2006) and asked it to undertake a universal periodic review of the fulfilment by each State of its human rights obligations, ensuring universal coverage and equal treatment of all States. The Council set out the working rules in its institution-building resolution 5/1 (18 June 2007). Under resolution 16/21 (2011), the second and later cycles run every four and a half years.
How a review works
- Who reviews: a Working Group made up of the 47 member States of the Council, chaired by the Council President. Observer States may also take part in the interactive dialogue.
- Troika: three rapporteur States, chosen by lot from different regional groups, help prepare the review and the report.
- Three documents (paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1): (a) a national report by the State; (b) a compilation by OHCHR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) of information from treaty bodies, special procedures and other UN documents; and (c) an OHCHR summary of credible information from other stakeholders, such as NGOs and national human rights institutions.
- Interactive dialogue: States ask questions and make recommendations.
- Response: recommendations that the State accepts are identified as supported; the others are noted, together with the State's comments. The Council plenary then adopts the outcome.
- Implementation: primarily by the State concerned, and, as appropriate, by other relevant stakeholders.
UPR compared with a court case
| Point | Universal Periodic Review | Court proceedings |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Cooperative, intergovernmental peer review | Adjudication of a dispute |
| Who decides | States question and recommend; the State under review chooses to support or note | An independent judge or tribunal |
| Coverage | Every UN member State, on the same basic system | Only the parties before the court |
| Outcome | Recommendations and voluntary commitments, not enforceable as such | Binding judgment or decree |
India's fourth review
India was reviewed in the fourth cycle at the 41st session of the Working Group, on 10 November 2022. The delegation was headed by the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, and the troika was Nepal, the Netherlands and Sudan. The Working Group report (A/HRC/52/11) lists 339 recommendations. In its written response (A/HRC/52/11/Add.1, 27 February 2023), India supported 221 of them and did not accept the rest (111 marked "noted" and 7 marked "rejected"). Recommendations to ratify the first and second Optional Protocols to the ICCPR were noted, not supported. On the Convention against Torture the picture was mixed: India supported several recommendations to consider ratifying it or to strengthen efforts towards ratification, but noted or rejected others that called for immediate ratification.
Example
Zoya works with an NGO that documents discrimination against children in schools. The NGO can send its findings as a stakeholder submission. OHCHR may reflect credible information in its summary of stakeholder material, and a reviewing State may then recommend action on school discrimination. If the State supports that recommendation, Zoya's NGO can use it at the next review to ask what has actually been done. It cannot, however, use the recommendation as a court order against any official.
Strengths and limits
The UPR's main strength is universality: large and small States are examined on the same basic footing, and every State's record is open to scrutiny. Its main weakness is that follow-up depends on political will, since the process has no enforcement machinery. For the wider UN human rights system, see Human Rights Law: Complete Notes.
Exam point
The UPR (General Assembly resolution 60/251; Human Rights Council resolution 5/1) is a cooperative peer review of every UN member State. It is based on three documents, and recommendations are either "supported" or "noted". India's fourth review was held on 10 November 2022.
Sources and further reading
- General Assembly resolution 60/251: Human Rights Council (2006)
- Human Rights Council resolution 5/1: Institution-building of the Human Rights Council (2007)
- Human Rights Council resolution 16/21: Review of the work and functioning of the Council (2011)
- Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: India, A/HRC/52/11 (2022)
- India's views on the recommendations, A/HRC/52/11/Add.1 (2023)
