Geneva – Switzerland, 31 March 2010

Introduction

On 21 September 2008, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 9/9 entitled “Protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict”. Paragraph 8 of the Resolution invites “the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene, within existing resources, an expert consultation, open to the participation of Governments, regional organizations, relevant United Nations bodies and civil society organizations, and in consultation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, on the issue of protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the outcome of this consultation, in the form of a summary of discussions on the above-mentioned issue, to the Council at its eleventh session”.

The expert consultation was held in Geneva on 15 April 2009. The expert consultation was chaired by Professor Georges Abi-Saab, former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Appeals Chamber and Honorary Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The High Commissioner reported on the outcome of the consultation to the 11th session of the Council (A/HRC/11/31 of 4 June 2009).

In resolution 12/5 of 1 October 2009, the Human Rights Council recalled its resolution 9/9 of 24 September 2008 on the protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, took note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the outcome of the expert consultation on the protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict and invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene, within the parameters set forth in paragraph 8 of Council resolution 9/9, a second expert consultation on the issue of protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, with a view to enabling the completion of the consultations on this issue, and requested the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the outcome of the consultation, in the form of a summary of discussions, prior to its fourteenth session.

The Expert Consultation

Pursuant to the Human Rights Council resolution 12/5, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) intends to organize an expert consultation on the protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict. The seminar will take place in Geneva on 31 March 2010.

Experts will be invited to share their views and experiences on the subject-matter of the consultation. The consultation will be structured as a round table expert discussion. It will be open to Governments, regional organizations, relevant United Nations bodies and civil society organizations.

The expert consultation will be divided in an opening session and substantive sessions as required. As a follow-up to the April 2009 expert consultation, the substantive sessions will be structured around the issue of implementation of human rights in situations of armed conflict, in particular from the perspective of practice of special procedures, the case law of treaty bodies, relevant jurisprudence from regional and international tribunals, as well as the experience from other actors, including international commissions of inquiry and NGOs.

Outcome

As requested by the Human Rights Council, OHCHR will prepare a report on the outcome of the consultation, in the form of a summary of discussions, to be submitted to the Council at its 14th session.

Documents

• Draft agenda
• Concept note Expert Meeting