Here’s What to Expect at HRC 51
The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions have meant that the HRC 51 will be held in a hybrid format with online and in-person modalities for informal negotiations, voting and statements. Due to the ongoing renovations underway, side events will take place in the Palais for the first time since 2020 after restrictions to in-person events due to the Pandemic were announced. The side events will be limited to one per organisation and one hour in duration.
The 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from 12 September to 7 October.
Below you can find information about:
- Anticipated sexual rights-related resolutions, panels and reports
- UPR outcomes
- SRI’s online events taking place during the 51st session
Please note that all dates are provisional and subject to change.
The latest information about the session will be available on OHCHR’s HRC51 page.
Access the full programme of work for HRC51
Access the HRC51 schedule meeting calendar
Featured News
To mark the upcoming International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September, the Sexual Rights Initiative, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Ipas, the International Service for Human Rights, Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women. MSI Reproductive Choices and the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education have developed a joint statement on abortion rights for delivery at the 51st session.
A Conversation on Safe Abortion
To commemorate the Internation Day of Safe Abortion, the Sexual Rights Initiative will host a moderated conversation between the WHO and a feminist activist to discuss safe abortion and its implementation. Central to every discussion on abortion is the question of autonomy and control, which is particularly true for self-managed abortion. Who has control over women’s bodies and why? Denial of bodily autonomy, including autonomous decision-making about pregnancy, violates human rights and fundamental freedoms, no matter what justifications are provided. The conversation will address the key aspects of the safe abortion guidelines and discuss what is essential policy landscape and its implementation to ensure women’s and girls’ right to bodily autonomy.
More information about this conversation will be coming in the following week.
Expected Resolutions Relevant to Sexual Rights
- The right to development (Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement)
- Human rights and transitional justice (Argentina, Morocco and Switzerland)
- World programme for Human Rights Education (Brazil, Costa Rica, Morocco, The Philippines, Senegal, Slovenia, and Thailand)
- From rhetoric to reality: A worldwide appeal against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerence (Burkina Faso on behalf of Africa Group)
- Youth and human rights (Côte D'Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, Philippines, Morocco, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, The Republic of Moldova, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan)
- Local government and human rights (Chile, Egypt, Romania, and Republic of Korea)
- Human rights and indigenous people (Mexico and Guatemala)
- Terrorism and human rights (Egypt and Mexico)
- Human rights to drinking water and sanitation (Spain and Germany)
- Voluntary Fund and Contributions to the UPR on participation of states in the review and technical and financial assistance to States (Argentina, South Africa and Pakistan)
- The role of prevention (Australia, Hungary, the Maldives, Morocco, Poland, Ukraine)
- Neuro - technology and human rights (Greece)
- Role of good governance in promotion and protection of human rights (Poland, Australia, Chile, South Africa and Republic of Korea)
- Conscientious objection to military service (Costa Rica, Croatia and Poland)
- Safety of journalists (Brazil, France, Austria, Qatar )
- National Human Rights Institutions (Australia)
- Promotion of international cooperation in support of national mechanisms in implementation and follow up of reports (Paraguay and Brazil)
Sexual Rights-Related Panels
Biennial panel discussion on the right to development
Theme: 35 years on: policy pathways to operationalizing the right to development
Time: Tuesday, 15 September 2022, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m
Annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of the Human Rights Council and that of its mechanisms
Theme: Overcoming gender-based barriers to freedom of opinion and expression
Time: Monday, 26 September 2022, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Panel discussion on the future of the right to work in connection with climate change actions, responses and impacts in the context of sustainable and inclusive economies
Time: Tuesday, 27 September 2022, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Annual half-day panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples
Theme: Impact of social and economic recovery plans in the COVID-19 context on indigenous peoples, with a special focus on food security
Time: Wednesday, 28 September 2022, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Panel discussion on the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights
Time: Wednesday, 28 September 2022, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
See the list of all panels and concept notes
Sexual Rights-Related Reports
A/HRC/51/9
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Best practices, challenges and lessons learned concerning integrated approaches to the promotion and protection of human rights and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the national level
A/HRC/51/11
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Summary of the half-day panel discussion on deepening inequalities exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and their implications for the realization of human rights
A/HRC/51/13
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Civil society space: COVID-19: the road to recovery and the essential role of civil society
A/HRC/51/15
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Good practices, lessons learned and challenges faced by States in preventing, mitigating and addressing the diversion of arms and unregulated or illicit arms transfers
Read the report when it becomes available »
A/HRC/51/17
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The right to privacy in the digital age
A/HRC/51/18
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Rights of indigenous peoples
A/HRC/51/19
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Human rights implications of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on young people
A/HRC/51/20
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
A/HRC/51/22
Report of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
Right to development
A/HRC/51/24
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: state of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures
A/HRC/51/25
Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impending the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination
Access to justice, accountability and remedies for victims of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors and private military and security companies
A/HRC/51/26
Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities
A/HRC/51/27
Report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons
Older persons deprived of liberty
Read the report when it becomes available »
A/HRC/51/28
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
Indigenous women and the development, application, preservation and transmission of scientific knowledge
Read the report when it becomes available »
A/HRC/51/30
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to development
Response and recovery plans and policies on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic from the perspective of the right to development at the national level
A/HRC/51/32
Report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
Rethinking global peace and security: a democratic and equitable international order in jeopardy
Read the report when it becomes available »
A/HRC/51/33
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights
Secondary sanctions, civil and criminal penalties for circumvention of sanctions regimes, and over-compliance with sanctions
A/HRC/51/37
Thematic study by the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development
Racism, racial discrimination and the right to development
A/HRC/51/47
Report of the Secretary-General
Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanism in the field of human rights
Read the report when it becomes available »
A/HRC/51/53
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers through transformative change for racial justice and equality
A/HRC/51/55
Report of the International Independent Expert Mechanisms to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement
Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement offices
UPR OUTCOMES
The 51st session does not have any UPR outcomes as this is the period between the third and fourth cycle of UPR. The fourth cycle reviews will begin in November 2022, and UPR outcome adoptions will resume at the 52nd session of the HRC.
Sexual Rights Initiative Events
- A Conversation on Safe Abortion
The 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council provides us with an opportunity to commemorate International Safe Abortion Day by discussing safe abortion in accurate, scientific, non-judgemental terms. This also allows us to inform and update all stakeholders about the WHO’s recently released Abortion Care Guidelines.
The Sexual Rights Initiative will host a moderated conversation between the WHO and a feminist activist to discuss safe abortion and its implementation. Central to every discussion on abortion is the question of autonomy and control, which is particularly true for self-managed abortion. Who has control over women’s bodies and why? Denial of bodily autonomy, including autonomous decision-making about pregnancy, violates human rights and fundamental freedoms, no matter what justifications are provided. The conversation will address the key aspects of the safe abortion guidelines and discuss what is essential policy landscape and its implementation to ensure women’s and girls’ right to bodily autonomy.