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THE FIRST CYCLE OF THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW MECHANISM OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS

COUNCIL: A WORK IN PROGRESS

Report Prepared by: Edward R. McMahon, Ed.D. The University of Vermont, USA

 For: The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Geneva, Switzerland 

July 2012

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OverviewDesigned to Learn about How UPR is being

UsedBasic Data from the First Cycle (e.g. number

of recommendations, acceptance levels, regional distribution)

Action categories/analysisIssuesAnalysis by Regime TypeConclusions/Recommendations

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Number of Recommendations

1 - 4 5 - 8 9 - 120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

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7000

8000

9000

10000

Session Numbers

Num

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f rec

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tions

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Responses to Recommendations

Accepted, 15,615 - 73%

General Response, 1,384 - 6%

No Response, 1,177 - 6%

Rejected, 3,182 - 15%

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Accepted vs. Other Responses for All Sessions

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Accepted Other Respnses

Session Number

Num

ber o

f Res

pons

es

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REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS (By State under Review)

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

Africa

Asia

EEG

GRULAC

WEOG

Region under Review

Perc

enta

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Recommending Re-gion

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Overall Distribution of Recommendations by Recommending Region and Region of State Under Review

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

Percentage of Recommendations ReceivedPercentage of Recommendations MadePercentage of UN Member States in Region

State Under Review/Recommending Region

Perc

enta

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f Rec

omm

enda

tions

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Regional Distribution of Recommendations by Recommending State Region

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

AfricaAsiaEEGGRULAC WEOG

Recommending State Region

Perc

enta

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f Rec

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enda

tions

SuR Region

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Percentages of Acceptance Rates for Selected Region Pairs (bold fewer than 80%)Region Overall accepted (%)Africa-Africa 90Africa-Asia 88Africa-EEG 85Africa-GRULAC 88Africa-WEOG 58

Region Asia-Africa 94Asia-Asia 92Asia-EEG 92Asia-GRULAC 94Asia-WEOG 62

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Percentages of Acceptance Rates for Selected Region Pairs (bold fewer than 80%)Region Overall accepted

(%)WEOG-Africa 63WEOG-Asia 55WEOG-EEG 79WEOG-GRULAC 75WEOG-WEOG 62

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Action Categories Category 1 – Recommendations directed at non-SuR states, or calling upon the SuR

to request financial or other assistance from, or share information with, non-SuR states (verbs in this category may include share, seek, request)

Examples: - Seek contributions from the international community in the Government’s efforts to

promote rights (Ghana to Botswana, Session 3). - Share its experiences and best practices with other countries in establishing

national legislation and mechanisms and pursuing international cooperation to curb human trafficking (Philippines to United Arab Emirates, Session 3).

Category 2 – Recommendations emphasizing continuity in actions and/or policies (key action verbs: continue, persevere, maintain)

Examples: - Continue its efforts to develop the work of its national institution for human rights,

as an effective human rights watchdog (Egypt to Bangladesh, Session 4). - Continue the efforts to combat trafficking in persons with a special emphasis on

women and children (Canada to Japan, Session 2). Category 3 – Recommendations to consider change (key action verbs: consider,

reflect upon, review, envision) Examples: - Consider subsequent measures towards the complete abolition of the death penalty

(Switzerland to Cuba, Session 1). - Consider becoming party to the International Convention on the Protection of the

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Azerbaijan to Mauritius, Session 4).

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Action Categories (con’t) Category 4 – Recommendations of action that contain a general element

(key action verbs: take measures or steps towards, encourage, promote, intensify, accelerate, engage with, respect, enhance)

Examples: - Further improve the professionalism of the police force (Netherlands to

Barbados, Session 3). - Take the necessary steps to reduce discriminatory practices and

violence against women (France to Mali, Session 2).

Category 5 – Recommendations of specific action (key action verbs: undertake, adopt, ratify, establish, implement, recognize –in international legal sense)

Examples: - Abolish the death penalty (Chile to Burkina Faso, Session 3). - Adopt legislative measures to outlaw domestic violence if it has not done

so already (South Africa to Russian Federation, Session 4).

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Breakdown by Action Category Category 1, 492 - 2%

Category 2, 3,059 - 14%

Category 3, 2,039 - 10%

Category 4, 8,403 - 39%

Category 5, 7,366 - 35%

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Distribution of Action Categories by Recommending States

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

12345

Recommending Region

Perc

enta

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tions Action Cate-

gory

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Percentage of Acceptance for Recommendation Categories

Category1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

AcceptedOther Responses

Action Category

Resp

onse

Per

cent

age

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SuR Response to Recommendations Disaggregated by Action Categories

Accepted Rejected General response No response0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 4Category 5

Response to Recommendations

Action Cate-gory

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• Accepted (%)1. International instruments – 20.1% 572. Women – 17.3% 843. Children – 16.1% 834. Torture – 8.1% 645. Justice – 7.3% 746. Human rights education and training – 4.4% 917. Detention conditions – 4.3% 708. Special Procedures – 4.1% 499. Minorities – 3.9% 7910. Treaty Bodies – 3.8 77

Common Issues in Recommendations

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Issues by Percentage - SuR Regional Distribution Sessions(25% and over are bolded)Region of State under Review

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG Total

International instruments

25 32 9 15 19 100

Women 32 31 11 15 11 100

Children 34 26 11 17 12 100

Torture 37 29 9 14 11 100

Justice 32 30 11 20 7 100

Human rights education and training

35 27 12 15 11 100

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Issues by Percentage - Recommending Regional Distribution (25% and over are bolded)Recomm-ending Region

Africa Asia EEG GRULAC WEOG Total

International instruments 10 9 14 27 39

99

Women (ESC)10 15 14 17 42

99

Children (ESC) 10 15 18 19 37

99

Torture (CP)4 6 17 23 50

99

Justice (CP)8 12 14 15 51

99

Human rights education and training

16 20 16 10 37

99

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Recommendation rate of Selected ESC and CP Issues made by WEOG and Africa/Asia

CP ESC0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

WEOGAfrica/Asia

Selected CP & ESC Issues

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Mad

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Overall Acceptance Rate for Selected CP and ESC Issues

CP ESC0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Selected CP & ESC Issues

Rate

of A

ccep

tanc

e

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Overall Percentage of Category 5 Recommendations for Selected CP and ESC Issues

CP ESC0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Selected CP & ESC Issues

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Regional Groups’ Recommendation Action Categories and Levels of Democracy Regional Group of State Making Recommendation Mean Action Category

Africa 2.85

Asia 2.86

EEG 3.64

GRULAC 3.70

WEOG 3.83

Polity IV Project level of democracy Mean action category

Autocracy 2.84

Anocracy 2.82

Democracy 3.30

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Mean Action Level for Recommendations Rated Democracy/Anocracy/Autocracy ClassificationRegional group Overall Autocracy Anocracy Democracy

Africa-Africa 2.82 2.74 2.83 2.95

Africa-World 3.03 3.03 2.99 3.19

Asia- Asia 2.83 2.75 2.64 3.10

Asia- World 3.05 2.88 2.73 3.19

EEG-EEG 3.54 3.44 3.44 3.70

EEG-World 3.74 3.16 3.55 3.88

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Rates of Acceptance Recommendations Amongst All Action Categories

Africa Asia EEG0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

DemocracyAnocracyAutocracy

Region of State under Review

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Conclusions - Positive ElementsThe first cycle of the UPR has resulted in a

number of positive elements. States appear to care about the process and

how their performance is reflected through it. Heightened communication and dialogue

between governments and non-state actors. A baseline set of documentation.Some positive results.May lead to a diminution of the regional bloc

dynamic which has impeded global relations.

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ChallengesPatterns exist reflecting the polarized nature

of the contemporary international community, and different approaches to dealing with human rights issues. States in Asia and Africa tend to take a softer approach to addressing human rights issues amongst themselves.

UPR mechanism needs to be strengthened to consolidate its credibility.

UPR’s support may be broad, it is not necessarily deep in terms of creating a more robust mechanism.

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RecommendationsProvide more action-oriented

Recommendations.Heighten Engagement of NGOs. Emphasize Second Cycle Follow-UpMake meaningful mid-term reporting the

normPromote serious and sustained SuR

engagementLimit recommendations making either

generic appeals to the international community to provide assistance or simply calls for an action or policy to be continued.