Special Report by Timothy Bayl on the 4th Session of the Human Right Council Advisory Committee, 25-29 January 2010

The Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council met from 25-29 January to discuss topics as requested of it by the Human Rights Council. These requests were regarding: human rights education and training; the right to food; human rights of women; the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; missing persons; human rights of persons with disabilities; the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members; and human rights and international solidarity. The week-long meeting produced a number of recommendations to the Human Rights Council that were adopted at the end of the session. 

Discussions on first day of the meeting focused on the draft declaration on human rights education and training, with a large amount of debate on the nuances of translations both of the draft declaration and on the wording of the theme "education and training" itself, referred to as "education and learning" in the mandate of the Human Rights Council. See paragraph 16 of the working paper on the draft declaration for a discussion on wording. The Rapporteur of the Working Group on the draft declaration stated that the end of the technical phase had been reached and that the political phase is now underway with the document to be considered at the 13^th Session of the Council in March. More discussions on human rights education and training will be available on our website soon. In the mean time, feel free to check out the human rights education and training page of the OHCHR website and the website of Human Rights Education Associates (HREA).

In their consideration of discrimination in the context of the right to food, the Advisory Committee requested for views and comments on the good practices and anti-discriminatory policies and strategies set out in the preliminary study to address discrimination in the context of the right to food of vulnerable individuals and groups. The Advisory Committee also expressed its desire for a study on the rights of peasants, particularly rural women, and other people living in rural areas, including those engaged in traditional fishing, hunting and herding activities to be requested of it.

Further recommendations called for a revised draft set of principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members to be considered at the next Advisory Committee session.  It was also recommended that the Council to take note of the Advisory Committee's progress report on best practices in the matter of missing persons and that a member of the Advisory Committee to attend the second expert consultation on the issue of protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict in preparation for a study with potential recommendations on this question. Finally, the Advisory Committee expressed its hope that they be entrusted with preparing a study on the application and comprehensiveness of existing UN human rights instruments in regards to older persons.

See the OHCHR website for more information and documentation or news items on the 4^th Session of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.