Information for National Human Rights Institutions

The 8th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) will be held from 2-18 June 2008. The opening meeting of the 8th session of the HRC will be convened on 2 June at 10.00 a.m. in room XVIII at the Palais des Nations. The session will be held in room XVIII from 2-13 June and will continue in room XIX from 16-18 June, at the Palais des Nations.

The 8th session will be immediately followed by the organizational session related to the third year of the HRC, which will be held in room XIX from 19 to 20 June 2008.

The programme of work of the 8th session can be found on the HRC extranet page.

Accreditation of NHRI:

Participation of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) shall be afforded to:

•  those institutions which are accredited by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) as in compliance with the Paris Principles (“A status” institutions);

•  the ICC as the representative body of NHRIs globally;

•  regional coordinating committees of NHRIs, speaking on behalf of “A” accredited institutions, in line with the strict criteria agreed upon by the ICC at its 19th session in March 2007.

NHRIs which are deemed as in “status A” by the ICC wishing to accredit representatives to the 8th session of the Human Rights Council are therefore invited to send their signed request(s) by fax indicating the name of the person(s) on their institution's official letterhead to Ms. Jacqueline Broussin at: Fax +41 (0) 22 928 9018. In case of difficulties you may contact her by email at jbroussin@ohchr.org or by phone at: +41 22 928 9283.

Applicant participants without a UNOG identity badge should apply in person to the security entrance at Pregny Gate, 8 - 14 Avenue de la Paix. On presentation of an identity document and a copy of the letter of accreditation, an appropriate photo-badge designating participants as a National Human Rights Institution, the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs, or other coordinating committee of NHRIs, respectively, valid for the duration of the Council session, will be issued.

The accreditation office of the Human Rights Council will be located at the security entrance "Pregny Gate" and will be open from Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 17.00 pm non-stop, throughout the session.

NHRI documentation

In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, “A status” NHRIs are entitled to submit documentation for the Council sessions (reports, policy papers, etc). The documents:

• should relate to a particular HRC agenda item
• will receive an official UN document symbol (A/HRC/../ NI/..)
• will not be edited
• will not be translated (therefore, documents should be in English, French or Spanish)
• should not exceed a reasonable number of pages (i.e. 30-40 pages maximum)

The deadline for submission of documents for the 8th session of the Human Rights Council is 9 May 2008 (email: jbroussin@ohchr.org, copied to jklok@ohchr.org). Please indicate which agenda item it should be made available under (see agenda on http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/8session/agenda.htm)

NHRI written statements:

NHRIs with “A status” ICC accreditation may submit written statements relevant to the Council's programme of work for its 8th session. The deadline for the submission of written statements will be 23 May 2008. The Secretariat will not be able to ensure the timely circulation of written statements that are late. Statements should be sent electronically to jbroussin@ohchr.org, copied to jklok@ohchr.org. Please refer to the Guidelines for more information on the written statements.

NHRI oral interventions

Accredited institutions wishing to make an oral intervention are requested to fill out the NHRI statement form and hand-carry it to the List of Speakers Desk which will be set up in the front of the plenary room. Also note that there is a pre-inscription fax form.

Please note that those accredited institutions wishing to make an oral statement are responsible for bringing 250 copies of their statement, if they want it distributed in the room.

All persons addressing the Council as "A status" NHRIs or the ICC must be accredited as representing such institutions (see procedure above). Accredited NHRIs or the ICC may have other NHRIs associate with their statements. In such a case, the statement should be introduced as "I the representative of [NHRI name] am pleased to make the following statement. Associated to this statement are [name(s) of institution(s)]".

Regional coordinating committees may make an oral statement, provided that they only speak on behalf of their member NHRIs that are in full conformity with the Paris Principles, evidenced by an “A status” accreditation with the ICC. At the beginning of the statement the regional coordinating committee must state the names of the NHRIs on whose behalf they speak. All of these NHRIs should previously have expressed their agreement with the content of the statement.

Room reservations for meetings and parallel events

NHRIs duly accredited to the 8th session of the HRC may be able to organize parallel events of relevance to the work of the Human Rights Council, taking into account availability of rooms.

Room booking requests will be received as of now by t he Secretariat, and will be processed on a first come first serve basis, subject to availability of rooms. All requests should be sent by fax to Ms. Françoise Kenfack , who can be contacted at:

Until 30 May 2008:

Fax:  + 41 (0) 22 917 90 11
Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 96 41

The contact details as of 2 June and for the duration of the session will follow.

The relevant room booking forms and annexed guidelines will be posted on the webpage of the Human Rights Council's 8th session at a later stage.

Please be advised that the Secretariat does not provide interpretation for parallel meetings. NHRIs shall therefore bring their own interpreters, if they so wish, and inform the Secretariat accordingly ahead of time. It is reminded that the use of cameras/videos during parallel events is not encouraged. Only journalists and cameramen accredited on a yearly basis with UNOG will be allowed to use camera and video equipment.

The NHRI in charge of organizing the meeting is requested to provide the Secretariat with a complete list of its guests at least 48 hours prior to the day of the meeting :

Fax: +41 (0)22 917 90 11

The contact details as of 2 June and for the duration of the session will follow.

Persons not accredited to the HRC session, who are invited to take part in parallel meetings, should go with an identity document to the Pregny gate, where they will be issued with a "Parallel Event" photo-badge. Please note that the badge will be valid for the duration of the meeting only.

Access to relevant information on the Web

As per latest HRC practice, a live Webcast service will be available under the Council's webpage, covering the plenary session online. The Webcast service may be accessed through this link: http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/

The HRC Extranet service will also continue. The extranet page may be accessed through this link: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/form.htm

Username: hrc extranet /
Password: 1session

OHCHR's National Institutions Unit stands ready to assist National Human Rights Institutions and answer their queries and may be contacted at: