Universal Rights Group

♿️ Out now: Ensuring Dignity and Realising Rights, Measuring the Impact of the United Nations Human Rights System on the enjoyment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with @KasGeneva 👉Read the report here: bit.ly/4dFPmti

🇫🇮In September 2025, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Finland @Ulkoministerio, we organised the fifth Oslo+ meeting of bilateral and multilateral development experts to share good practices in evolving human rights-based approaches (HRBA) to international development cooperation. 💡Check out our new Oslo+5 report summarising the discussions 👇 bit.ly/3ZWeTI9

🌐 At a time when multilateralism is under growing pressure, demonstrating real-world impact has never been more important. For the United Nations — and especially the UN Human Rights Council — this means focusing on implementation and ensuring human rights commitments lead to real changes to people’s lives. Our new video explores why this matters now more than ever. 🎥 Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=btAEdOnS…

📢 In the latest edition of URG’s ‘Human Rights Implementation and Impact’ series of reports, we examine the degree to which the UN #humanrightssystem is currently engaged on questions of vertical or socio-economic #inequality. The report includes 5 country case studies: Brazil 🇧🇷, Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦, Jordan 🇯🇴, Kenya 🇰🇪, and the UK 🇬🇧 📄 Read the full report here: bit.ly/4kKvLLy

🔎 What happens when a system designed to investigate human rights abuses becomes overwhelmed by its own structure? 💡In our latest blog, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture @DrAliceJEdwards lays out why the Special Procedures system is struggling – and what meaningful reform could look like at a time of financial and political crisis. 📖 Read the blog here: bit.ly/4qbZM8K

🇺🇳 The UN Human Rights Council has recognised a first-ever universal guidance framework to support the establishment of National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up (NMIRFs). 💡 In his latest blog, our Executive Director Marc Limon unpacks resolution 60/27, how it strengthens NMIRFs and marks an important step towards more effective, coordinated implementation of international human rights commitments. 📖 Read the blog here: bit.ly/4pqCOd7

📢 Our latest report is out: The Human Rights Council in 2025 💡As 2025 draws to a close, URG is pleased to share its annual end-of-year report, which dives into the key events and developments that shaped the #HumanRightsCouncil, its achievements and effectiveness. 🇺🇳 The report also analyses Council members’ engagement with the human rights mechanisms and OHCHR, their voting records and leadership on resolutions. 📄 Read the full report here: bit.ly/3MkTip9

🖥️ #Digitaltechnology, including #AI, offers immense benefits for human welfare and sustainable development. Yet it also brings important risks. 🇺🇳 What role should the #HumanRightsCouncil play in ensuring that human rights are respected, promoted, and protected through the lifecycle of digital technology/AI? Watch the full video 🎥 : youtu.be/O0x4oEGYAiE&t=1s

On 14 October 2025, the #UNGA elected 14 🇺🇳 Member States to the @UN_HRC for the period 2026-2028: AG: Mauritius 🇲🇺 (181 votes), Angola 🇦🇴 (179), South Africa 🇿🇦 (178), Egypt (173) APG: Viet Nam 🇻🇳 (180), Pakistan 🇵🇰 (178), India 🇮🇳 (177), Iraq 🇮🇶 (175) EEG: Slovenia 🇸🇮 (176), Estonia 🇪🇪 (171) GRULAC: Chile 🇨🇱 (173), Ecuador 🇪🇨 (171) WEOG: Italy 🇮🇹 (179), United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (161)

💡Launched by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March 2025, the ambitious #UN80 initiative aims to overhaul the UN system to make it more efficient, cost-effective, and equipped to respond to today’s global challenges. 📘Learn more about the #UN80 reforms and their implications for the UN’s human rights pillar in our 🆕 blog post: 👉 bit.ly/3LiSali

🔎 Who are the 14 candidates for the 2025 HRC elections? 4️⃣ for AG: Angola 🇦🇴, Egypt 🇪🇬, Mauritius 🇲🇺, and South Africa 🇿🇦 4️⃣ for APG: India 🇮🇳, Iraq 🇮🇶, Pakistan 🇵🇰, and Viet Nam 🇻🇳 2️⃣ for EEG: Estonia 🇪🇪, and Slovenia 🇸🇮 2️⃣ for GRULAC: Chile 🇨🇱, and Ecuador 🇪🇨 2️⃣ for WEOG: Italy 🇮🇹, and the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 👇Learn more about the candidates by reading our 🆕 Election Guide bit.ly/3INxHo3

🌐 Just launched in Geneva: the Wednesday Exchange, a series of roundtables by @URGthinktank & @UAEUNGENEVA 🇦🇪 bringing together ambassadors from all regional groups for in-depth dialogue on key human rights issues before the #HRC 💡 The first roundtable explored how the #HRC can support the Global Digital Compact’s goal to build an ‘inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights’ 🤝 Held under the Chatham House Rule to encourage meaningful and open discussion Read more about this initiative here: bit.ly/4naUWYC