SRI as a feminist coalition has participated in every regular session of the Council since its formation. SRI works at the Human Rights Council to bring a feminist and intersectional approach to sexuality and gender while foregrounding the voices of the Global South. We do this through advocacy with member states, UN mechanisms and agencies. Each session, we engage the council’s debates, discussions and panels through statements, often written and delivered in collaboration with activists and other civil society organisations. We also provide workshops and trainings to organisations and activists interested in engaging with the council. Finally, we contribute to developing knowledge on sexual rights by organising events and panels, organising campaigns and creating and sharing knowledge resources. 

At the HRC, we:

  • Support the individual and collective power of feminist and SRHR advocates, particularly from the Global South, to (re)claim this space for accountability and justice
  • Engage with states to shore up support, leadership and positive engagement on SRHR issues. 
  • Engage with various stakeholders (states, UN agencies, civil society organisations and activists) in the Council to better integrate an intersectional, decolonial, and economic justice approach to SRHR.

This work intersects with the Special Procedures when they report to the Council and the Universal Periodic Review. 

 

How is the Human Rights Council useful for activists:

The Political Context of Human Rights at the HRC:

 

Our work at the HRC

HRC Statements
Did you miss it? Here’s what happened at HRC 60!
The 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 8 September to 8 October 2025. The ongoing liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations, which significantly impacts the Council’s functioning, has once again put civil society organisations under an additional and significant burden.
HRC 60: Joint Civil Society Statement on Abortion (item 8)
Find the full statement and list of signatories here: https://www.abortionstatement.org/
HRC 60: Joint Statement to item 9 on the Global Sumud Flotilla
Today, a few hundred ordinary people from 44 countries are sailing toward Gaza to break the siege and open a humanitarian corridor. Our action is rooted in the failure of states to stop the humanitarian catastrophe created by Israel and to end the genocide. Under international humanitarian law, our governments must protect us from any attack on the flotilla. The Human Rights Council must act with clarity and urgency and condemn Israel’s genocide, and call on all states to fulfil their legal obligations. This requires a full arms, trade, and cultural embargo on Israel, and concrete steps to end impunity for these crimes.
HRC 60: SRI Statement to the General Debate on item 6 (UPR)
The UPR is a useful check point for states to reflect on their human rights programming - their best practices, gaps and challenges. It is a continuous reminder that the realisation of human rights should be a regular facet of states’ work, and that we shouldn’t have to wait for crises, emergencies, and conflicts to centre human rights, or to make a voluntary commitment to do better.
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SRI events at the HRC

HRC Statements
HRC 60 SRI Side-Event: Sexual Rights at the UN HRC: Past, Present, and Future
Beyond Conflation: A Rights-Based Approach to Trafficking and Sex Work
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Our latest statements

HRC Statements
HRC 60: Joint Civil Society Statement on Abortion (item 8)
Find the full statement and list of signatories here: https://www.abortionstatement.org/
HRC 60: Joint Statement to item 9 on the Global Sumud Flotilla
Today, a few hundred ordinary people from 44 countries are sailing toward Gaza to break the siege and open a humanitarian corridor. Our action is rooted in the failure of states to stop the humanitarian catastrophe created by Israel and to end the genocide. Under international humanitarian law, our governments must protect us from any attack on the flotilla. The Human Rights Council must act with clarity and urgency and condemn Israel’s genocide, and call on all states to fulfil their legal obligations. This requires a full arms, trade, and cultural embargo on Israel, and concrete steps to end impunity for these crimes.
HRC 60: SRI Statement to the Annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of the HRC
If the Council is truly serious in its objectives to meaningfully integrate a gender perspective into transitional justice processes, States must start their processes with gendered analyses at the centre, not as an add-in later. As 47 Independent UN Experts recently stated, gendered analyses are “essential for exposing power disparities, structural inequalities and discriminatory practices embedded in laws, institutions and social norms. ”
HRC 60: SRI Statement to the General Debate on item 6 (UPR)
The UPR is a useful check point for states to reflect on their human rights programming - their best practices, gaps and challenges. It is a continuous reminder that the realisation of human rights should be a regular facet of states’ work, and that we shouldn’t have to wait for crises, emergencies, and conflicts to centre human rights, or to make a voluntary commitment to do better.
More

 

UN Advocacy tool

image of dandelions with text UN Advocacy tool

This tool is a collaborative project by Fòs Feminista and the Sexual Rights Initiative. It aims to facilitate access for advocates and delegates to UN intergovernmental resolutions, expert guidance, and technical information in order to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights at the global level and hold governments accountable for their international obligations and commitments.

This tool includes two sections:

A searchable database of adopted intergovernmental documents and of expert guidance related to sexual and reproductive health and rights,

A curated list of key sexual and reproductive health and rights terms with selected examples of agreed language and additional guidance, definitions and resources.

Consult the UN Advocacy tool

 

What is the Human Rights Council?

The Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental mechanism made up of 47 UN member states, was created by the General Assembly in 2006 to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights across the globe and address human rights violations and make recommendations. The HRC can discuss either thematic or country-specific issues. The human rights council has three regular sessions every year and special sessions for urgent situations. 

47 UN Member States are elected by the UN General Assembly to serve on the Human Rights Council for a three-year term. All 193 UN Member States can participate in the proceedings of the Human Rights Council; however, only the 47 Members are entitled to vote on actions to be taken.

The Human Rights Council is mandated to:

  • Engage governments, civil society, and experts to debate, discuss, and adopt resolutions on thematic and country-specific human rights concerns.
  • Appoint Special Procedures to analyze and report on human rights related to particular themes and in specific countries.
  • Assess the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States through the Universal Periodic Review.
  • Examine human rights violation complaints.

The Human Rights Council meets three times a year for regular sessions in March, June, and September at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

To learn more about the Human Rights Council, please visit its website or watch this video produced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.