UN Special Procedures

What do they do? How are they relevant to my work?

The term Special Procedures refers to the mechanisms and procedures established by the Human Rights Council (formerly the Human Rights Commission) to review specific human rights topics or country situations. Special Procedures are either an individual (called “Special Rapporteur”, “Special Representative of the Secretary-General”, “Representative of the Secretary-General” or “Independent Expert”) or a working group, usually composed of five members *. Mandate holders serve in their personal capacities, and do not receive salaries or other financial compensation for their work. They are not UN staff and their status as independent experts helps to minimize political interference. They depend on government invitations and cooperation to complete their work. Mandate holders are appointed by the Human Rights Council and their work is supported by the OHCHR.

As part of their mandates, Special Procedures are asked to visit particular countries or territories and to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on human rights situations. Many also send communications directly to governments, and raise public awareness of a specific topic through press releases or other public statements. Mandate holders also increasingly work as a system rather than as individuals, in order to better coordinate with other human rights mechanisms and with each other. Some examples of thematic mandates are given below, and there are also country and “cross-cutting” mandates that are related to these themes.

All Special Procedures mandates can be found in the link provided in the Useful Links section, and the thematic mandates are listed below.

* - One from each region set by the UN: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Western Group.

How is the Work of Special Procedures Relevant
to Practitioners & UNCTs?

The purpose of the work of Special Procedures is to report on the fundamental causes and elements that lead to human rights abuses. As part of their reports, mandate holders then provide specific recommendations that aim to improve the human rights situation for people in a particular territory or to address certain types of human rights abuses. Virtually all phases of a Special Procedures mandate can be valuable for the work of practitioners and UNCTs, in particular:

1. Reading Special Procedures existing recommendations;
2. Participating actively in Special Procedures missions;
3. Being active in the follow-up to a Special Procedures mission.

1. Existing Recommendations: what are the benefits of reading them?

Most of the reports and studies that have been prepared by Special Procedures are public and available for review (see Useful Links). Through their research and fact-finding missions, Special Procedures mandate holders may identify root causes, patterns and complexities relating to particular human rights violations, highlight good practices initiated by the government and civil society, and issue recommendations. Typically, these recommendations outline measures to be adopted to overcome particular obstacles and to strengthen political, institutional, legal, judicial and administrative frameworks to ensure the promotion and protection of a particular right. These insights can be valuable to UNCTs, particularly in programming activities.

How is this information useful to local practitioners and UNCTs?

1. You will have detailed information on your country's human rights situation including specific challenges and areas of concern;
2. You will gain insight into the elements that contribute to violations of a particular human right, or to its promotion;
3. Recommendations can be used to either validate your programming or identify areas where increased measures need to be taken.

2. Missions: what are the benefits of participating actively in country visits?

Through their announcements, presence, reports and press releases, Special Procedures raise awareness both domestically and internationally about particular human rights situations. Because mandate holders are independent and are not affiliated with any particular UN agencies, the preparation and carrying out of the country visit will receive support from a wide range of institutions, though primarily from the OHCHR, which provides administrative and other services.

Information and reports provided by practitioners and UNCTs in mission preparation will be treated as confidential. This input gives Special Procedures mandate holders important additional context for data and information received from other channels. Practitioner insights are helpful in focusing the upcoming mission and assist in identifying persons, sites and material which the mandate holder should visit and consult before and during the mission.

Both the OHCHR and the UNCT have important roles to play in planning and executing visits, including coordinating with government ministries, organizing and scheduling meetings (with NGOs, CSOs, academics, diplomats, etc.), press conferences, and logistics (travel, mobile phones, interpreters, etc.). Members of the UNCT will often accompany the mandate holder during their country visits. In addition, because Special Procedures mandate holders are invited and hosted by governments, close coordination with the relevant government ministries is also required.

How are visits useful to local practitioners and UNCTs?

1. You can provide information to the Special Procedures mandate holder to regional/thematic areas in your country that you feel need most focus;
2. You can use the visit to raise awareness and dialogue on human rights and development issues at the local and national level, both within and between a large range of domestic stakeholders;
3. You can use the visit to create opportunities for dialogue with groups that are typically under-represented (women, elderly, youth, minorities), and ensure that meetings are inclusive and representative of these voices;
4. You will have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise the Special Procedures mandate holder, who is typically an internationally recognized expert in their field.

3. Follow-Up: what are the benefits of being active in the follow up to a Special Procedures visit?

It is important to remember that the work of the Special Procedures is not finished when the final report has been released to the press. Typically, the Special Procedures recommendations will require follow up in order to be implemented. Any future visits that the Special Procedures mandate holders conducts will refer directly to whether or not the recommendations from the prior report have been implemented, and to what extent. In addition, particularly for Special Procedures mandate holders with thematic mandates, a visit to a particular country may be followed by visits to other countries to research the same topic before issuing a final report. Especially for practitioners, much of the work begins once the mission is completed!

How is following up useful to local practitioners and UNCTs?

1. Special Procedures' reports and recommendations can be important for your own programming, and can help set priorities and new focus areas;
2. You can encourage and support the government to implement Special Procedures recommendations or aid in building capacity to do so;
3. You can encourage the government to issue a standing invitation, if they have not already done so;
4. Special Procedures' reports and recommendations can be important background information for any discussion with your government on the current human rights situation in your country;
5. You can encourage wide circulation of the Special Procedures findings and use recommendations as a platform for long-term advocacy and dialogue with other local stakeholders;
6. You can make the press aware of Special Procedures reports and recommendations.