Annual Meeting

Since 1994, annual meetings of special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups established by the Commission on Human Rights and assumed by the Human Rights Council have been organized as a follow-up to the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action underlined the importance of preserving and strengthening the system of special procedures and specified that the procedures and mechanisms should be enabled to harmonize and rationalize their work through periodic meetings (Part II, para. 95).

The annual meeting is also an opportunity for mandate holders to meet and exchange views with Member States , the Bureau of the Council, NGOs and representatives from the UN Secretariat, agencies, funds and programmes on issues such as follow-up to their country visits and recommendations. Pursuant to a recommendation made at the eleventh annual meeting, participants also hold a joint meeting with Chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies meeting in Geneva during the same period.

The 15th Annual Meeting of special procedures of the Human Rights Council will be held in Geneva from 23 to 27 June 2008. At the meeting, special procedures mandate holders will discuss, inter alia , issues arising from the Human Rights Council institution building process. Mandate holders are expected to adopt an Internal Advisory Procedure by which the Code of Conduct and other relevant documents, including the Manual of the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures are implemented to enhance the effectiveness and independence both of the Special Procedures system as a whole and also of individual mandate-holders. The Coordination Committee of Special Procedures adopted an interim Procedure in September 2007 and gave appropriate consideration to any matter concerning the working methods of mandate-holders which was brought to its attention. Mandate holders are expected to adopt their revised Manual of Special Procedures, which was brought into consonance with the Code of Conduct , and takes into account comments received from States and NGOs. Mandate holders will further discuss their engagement with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, and will also focus on other questions relating to their working methods, including follow up to their recommendations and communications , interaction with regional human rights mechanisms, and the integration of gender perspectives in their work.

The Chair of the Annual Meeting will be the new Chair of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures until June 2009. Other members will also be elected at the meeting, and the former Chair will remain an ex-oficio member for one year.

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by a two-day Information Session organized by OHCHR from 19-20 June 2008, and a half-day Orientation Session organized by the Coordination Committee on 22 June 2008 for the 16 new mandate holders who took up their functions on 1 May 2008.

Annual Meetings:

- 15th annual meeting, from 23 to 27 June 2008

- 14th annual meeting, from 18 to 22 June 2007

- 13th annual meeting, from 19 to 23 June 2006

- 12th annual meeting, from 21- 25 of June 2005

- 11th annual meeting, from 21- 25 of June 2004

- 10th annual meeting, from 23 - 27 June 2003