EP - UN Human Rights Commission

Council and Commission statements on the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights at the United Nations (Geneva, 14 March to 22 April 2005)
Debate: 23.02.2005

The Council and the Commission will be making statements on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. In 2005, the Commission will hold its sixty-first session from 14 March to 22 April.

Established in 1946 to weave the international legal fabric that protects our fundamental rights and freedoms, its brief has expanded over time to allow it to respond to the whole range of human rights problems. The Commission continues to set standards to govern the conduct of States, but it also acts as a forum where countries large and small, non-governmental groups and human rights defenders from around the world can voice their concerns.

The Commission meets annually in Geneva in March and April for six weeks and is composed of 53 States members. Over 3,000 delegates from member and observer States and from non-governmental organizations participate. During its regular annual session, the Commission adopts about a hundred resolutions, decisions and Chairperson's statements on matters of relevance to individuals in all regions and circumstances. It is assisted in this work by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, a number of working groups and a network of individual experts, representatives and rapporteurs mandated to report to it on specific issues.

For background information on the Commission on Human Rights, click here .

The provisional agenda can be found here.

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• EU Parliament - Human Rights resolutions: Western Sahara, Uzbekistan and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche (27/10/2005)
• EU Parliament on Human Rights in Nepal, Tunisia and Vojvodina (29/9/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Explanation of Vote: Decision of CHR on Rights and Responsibilities (25/7/2005)
• EU Parliament: Report on Human rights around the world in 2004  (26/4/2005)