Participation in the Human Rights Council

Accreditations are delivered by the Secretariat of the Council. See “How to proceed to obtain an accreditation for the Human Rights Council?” below to learn about the details to be observed when making an accreditation request.

Should you have any questions or problems regarding the accreditation procedure, please contact the Civil Society Unit of the Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights:

Phone : +41 (0)22 917 96 56
Email: civilsocietyunit(a)ohchr.org

You may also consult the accreditation slip of the OHCHR.

If your NGO has the ECOSOC consultative status, you need to email an accreditation request to the Human Rights Council’s Secretariat at hrcaccreditation(at)ohchr.org.

Regarding the content of your accreditation request, the latter should respect the following conditions:

• It should be written on a medium with the official heading of the organisation,
• It should clearly indicate the title and duration of the session the NGO would like to attend,
• It should be signed by the President or by the main representative of the organisation,
• It should indicate the complete name of the person that will represent the NGO at the Human Rights Council (names and surnames must be identical to the way they appear on the identity card and surnames have to be written in capital letters).

If you need a certificate in order to obtain you visa, you should also mention it in your letter.

For further information, please consult the practical guide of the OHCHR where you will find more details about the accreditation procedure as well as other useful information for delegates coming to attend HRC sessions.

In principle, your NGO does need ECOSOC status in order to have your representatives accredited. Yet it is current practice that NGOs without ECOSOC status get an accreditation for their representatives in the name of another NGO which does have ECOSOC status. In order to explore this possibility, you could contact NGOs in ECOSOC consultative status which work on the same topics or regions as your organisation.

To access the database of NGOs in ECOSOC consultative status, click here.

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Yes, representatives of NGOs holding an annual or a temporary badge issued by the NGO Liaison Office of the UN Office at Geneva have access to all meetings that are labeled as "public".

Once you are in Geneva, go to the ‘Pregny Gate’ of the Palais des Nations / UN building (next to the ‘Appia’ stop of bus number 8). Take with you a valid identity document as well as a copy of your accreditation request. The security personal will then issue a badge for the duration of the session.

Badges can be picked up from 2 pm. of the working day preceding the first day of a session.

Be aware that on the first day of a session, many people will be picking up their badges. You may thus have to calculate 30 to 90 minutes of queue time.

A limited number of seats in the Public Gallery are available for persons wishing to observe the proceedings of the HRC without being accredited as participants (for instance students and academics). Individuals who wish to attend a session are required to send an email (24 hours before the desired date) to the HCR Secretariat at hrcaccreditation@ohchr.org.

The email should contain the following information:

1. Date(s) of the visit,
2. Purpose of the visit,
3. Full name(s) of those wishing to attend the session.

Access to the public gallery is granted depending on the availability of seating and other circumstances.

The 15th regular session will take place from 13 May to 1 October 2010 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

The 9th session of the UPR will take place from the 22nd of November  to the 3rd of December 2010 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

The calendar of meetings of the Council is available on the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session"). To find it,  click on 'HRC Extranet' and then on 'Upcoming meetings and special events'.

On the Extranet of the Human Rights Council using the login "hrc extranet" and the password "1session". Then click on 'HRC Extranet', and you will find the program of work under 'Upcoming meetings and special events'.

The official Bulletin is available on the official website of the Council. It is usually published the day before an event takes place. Every morning you can also pick up a printed version of the current Bulletin of Informal Meetings at the UN's documentation centre, next to door 40.

In order to obtain information on NGO events upcoming during the next days or weeks, you may also consult the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session"). Once you are logged in, click on 'HRC Extranet', then on the session you are interested in and at last on "NGO Liaison Information page". You will find the side events listed in the document entitled "Provisional calendar of NGO side events".

You may also pick up ads with more detailed information on a particular NGO side event at the NGO Welcome Desk.

You can login to the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session"). On the Extranet you will find plenty of usefull documents in relation with the Human Rights Council.

On this webpage, you will find other documents, for instance reports (including unedited advanced versions) and communications related to the last session.

The draft program of work is available on the Council's website or on the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session"). Once you are logged in the Extranet, click on "HRC Extranet", then on "Regular Sessions" and at last on the session you are interested in.

Each session of the Council follows the same sequence of 10 agenda items. This agenda has been established by the Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and can be consulted here. The provisional annotated agenda for the upcoming session will be available on the Council's website shortly before de the session.

All documents in relation to the Human Rights Council can be consulted on the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session").

For the 14th session, you find the Orders of the Day here.

Every morning during the sessions, you can also pick up a printed version of the current Order of the Day at the UN's documentation centre, next to door 40.

All documents in relation to the Human Rights Council can be consulted on the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session").

The official Bulletin is available on the official website of the Council. It is usually published the day before an event takes place. Every morning you can also pick up a printed version of the current Bulletin of Informal Meetings at the UN's documentation centre, next to door 40.

In order to obtain information on NGO events upcoming during the next days or weeks, you may also consult the Extranet of the Human Rights Council (login "hrc extranet", password "1session"). Once you are logged in, click on 'HRC Extranet', then on the session you are interested in and at last on "NGO Liaison Information page". You will find the side events listed in the document entitled "Provisional calendar of NGO side events".

You may also pick up ads with more detailed information on a particular NGO side event at the NGO Welcome Desk.

• 14th session
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• 1st session

The resolutions and decisions of the HRC are also published in the reports the Council submits to the UN General Assembly.

At the end of each cycle (June to June) of the Human Rights Council, the latter adresses a report to the UN General Assembly. The reports are available in all six official languages here.

You can follow the plenary sessions live on the internet on the live webcast of the Council.

Videos of past discussions can be accessed through clicking on the "Archived video" tag.

The UN Department of Public Information publishes daily summeries.

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) publishes Council Updates which are regular updates on debates based on the Council's agenda.

ISHR also follows developments regarding the Human Rights Council over the year and publishes Council Monitor

The official website of the Council is administered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and accessible here.

In order to make a written statement, your NGO needs to have ECOSOC consultative status (General, Special or Roster). If this is not the case, you may still associate your NGO to the statement of an organisation  that does have ECOSOC status (joint statements). In this case, the name of the NGO without ECOSOC consultative status should be added as a footnote to the title of the submitted text.

The Secretariat of the Council provides guidelines and a model form for the submission of written statements. The guidelines also includes models for multi-lingual statements:

1. A written statement in a) English b) French or c) Spanish
2. A written statement in all three languages (English, French and Spanish)

You can use either of these forms but you should make sure you fill in all the required fields, such as your NGO's contact details, the type of ECOSOC consultative status it holds (general, special or roster), as well as to which session of the Council you wish to submit the statement.

Once you have inserted the text of your written statement, you should save the form as a word document (not a pdf) and send it by email to hrcngo(a)ohchr.org The title of the Email shoud be "[name of your NGO] - written statement submitted to [number of the session] session of the Human Rights Council".

Be careful to respect the deadline for submission of written statements. The deadline is 2 weeks before the start of a session.

For the current deadline, details on where to send your statement to, as well as more detailed information on how to submit written statements see the website of the Council.

First, your NGO must have obtained ECOSOC consultative status.

Then, your NGO must also get an accreditation for your representative to take part in the work of the Human Rights Council. More information on how to accredit your representatives is available in the section Accreditation.

Once you have fulfilled these conditions, you may register for an oral statement (see next question).

In order to register, you need to fill in the online oral statement request form.

All electronic pre-registrations made need to be confirmed in person at the list of speakers desk during the 24 hours preceding the meeting during which you wish to speak. Electronic pre-registration is not possible for statements during the segment on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on a specific State under review (yet pre-registration is possible for statements during the general debate of the UPR segment).

The schedule is not yet available.

NGOs can only be (pre-)registered on the speakers list by persons holding a badge of the very same organisation. You can not register statements for NGOs whose badge you do not hold. No exception is made to this rule, in order to ensure that no NGO is registered without its approval.

In principle you may not make oral statements if your NGO does not have ECOSOC status. Yet your NGO may join other NGOs which do have ECOSOC consultative status to make a joint statement. On how to do this, please refer to the question below on joint statements.

Accredited NGOs may make oral statements under substantive items of the HRC agenda. Modalities for NGO oral interventions are posted on the "NGO Liaison page" on the Extranet (login: HRC extranet, password: 1session) or are also made available at the list of speakers desk.

These modalities regard essentially speaking time arrangements, content of the statements and priorities with regard to the order of interventions.

For further information about modalities, please consult the list of speakers desk or contact the Civil Society Unit.
Tel. during the sessions: +41 (0)22 917 71 04
Tel prior to the sessions: +41 (0)22 917 96 56
Email: civilsocietyunit(a)ohchr.org

An NGO may join other NGOs to submit together a joint oral statement. There are two main advantages in doing so:

• Firstly, NGO joint statements with more than one co-signatory are given priority and placed at the beginning of the list of speakers. Since sometimes there are far too many organisations on the list of speakers for the time available, making a joint statement and thus being given priority will improve your chances to actually be heard within the Council.
• Secondly, your statement may gain increased attention and weight since it is made in the name of various organisations.

Click here in order to consult the NGO Oral Statement Co-sponsor Form.

An NGO that wants to make an oral statement must provide 25 written copies of its statement to the UN Conference Service at the beginning of the relevant meeting. The UN Conference Service staff can be approached in the middle of the plenary room. Photocopiers are available near the plenary room.

Additional copies of NGOs oral statements may be placed by NGOs only on the tables at the back of the plenary room, after delivery of the relevant statement.

NGOs are not permitted to distribute documents, pamphlets or any other material within the UN Building!

Yet you may place copies of your oral statements on the tables at the back of the plenary room, after delivery of the relevant statement. Tables are also available outside the plenary room for displaying documentation, clearly attributable to NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC.

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC and accredited to the session may organise so-called "side events", "parallel events" or "informal meetings" of relevance to the work of the HRC.

NGOs wishing to organise side events should send a fax to the Secretariat of the Council and fill in the NGO Parallel-Event Room Request Form. Contact details and the form are available here.

Room bookings must be done at the latest 24 hours before the event. It is though recommended to book the room as soon as possible since the number of rooms is limited and rooms are attributed on a first-come first-served basis.

Yes, an event which is organised by an accredited NGO may be co-sponsorised by other NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC. To do so, the NGO that wishes to co-sponser the event must fill in the "NGO Co-sponsorship of Parallel Events Form" available here.

The form needs to be submitted at the latest 24 hours before the event is taking place.

The Secretariat of the Council can provide you a with a beamer conected to a computer. Any orders have to be done at the time of room booking.

No, the Secretariat does not provide interpretation for NGO parallel events. NGOs may bring their own interpreters if they so wish, but must inform the Secretariat.

If you are interested in getting contact details of interpreters, you may contact Ricardo Espinosa at the NGO Liaison Office at Geneva.

For the duration of your event, you may invite guests who are not holding a badge to access the UN. In this case, you are requested to provide the HRC Secretariat, with a complete list of its guests at least 48 hours prior to the day of the meeting. Accordingly, "Parallel Event" photo-badges will be issued on the day of the scheduled event, at the "Pregny Gate" security entrance, upon presentation of a valid identification paper.

The use of cameras and videos during parallel events is not allowed. Only journalists and camerapeople accredited on a yearly basis with UNOG are allowed to use them. This rule has been established in order to protect i ndividuals (victims of abuses or human rights defenders) for whom the publications of images of them participating in a human rights meeting could constitute a severe personal danger.

United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)
NGO Liaison Office
Mr. Ricardo Espinosa
Ms. Nathalie Dereudet
Office of the Director-General
Room 153
Palais des Nations
1211 Geneva 10
Tel: + 41 (0)22 917 21 27
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 05 83
Email: ungeneva.ngoliaison@unog.ch
Website: www.unog.ch/ngo

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Civil Society Unit
Palais Wilson
1211 Geneva 10
Tel. +41 (0)22 917 96 56
Email : civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org

Website :
- Civil Society Unit
- NGOs within the Human Rights Council