An Analysis of the Fifty-first Session of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

I. Introduction

The United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Sub-Commission), ² formerly the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, met at the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 August through 27 August 1999 for its fifty-first session. ³ The Sub-Commission is a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights (Commission). It is composed of twenty-six members who are nominated by their respective governments and elected to four-year terms by the Commission. Under the principle of geographic distribution, the Sub-Commission has seven members from Africa, five from Latin America, five from Asia, three from Eastern Europe, and six from Western Europe and Other (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

The mandate of the Sub-Commission includes human rights standard setting as well as reviewing specific country situations and current human rights issues in all parts of the world. ⁴ Because of its role in initiating action within the UN human rights system and its accessibility to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), each year hundreds of human rights activists from dozens of countries travel to Geneva to attend and address the session of the Sub-Commission. In addition, the Sub-Commission is attended by observers from governments, UN bodies and specialized agencies, and other intergovernmental organizations. Over one thousand participants attended this year's session, representing 116 Governments, nineteen UN agencies, ten specialized agencies, and 124 NGOs.

The Sub-Commission develops resolutions that are presented to and often adopted by the Commission. ⁵ Members of the Sub-Commission also prepare working papers and studies on human rights problems. ⁶ This year's session, the fifty-first session, generated thirty resolutions, sixteen decisions, and six chair statements. Since many treaties and other human rights instruments have been promulgated, the Sub-Commission has de-emphasized its standard setting function ⁷ and has given greater attention to promotion, problem solving, implementation, and the use of public pressure to improve human rights. ⁸

A. The Importance of Country Work at the Sub-Commission

There are a number of the reasons why country work by the Sub-Commission is of value to the Commission and to the international human rights community. First and foremost, when handled appropriately, country resolutions have proven most successful as tools to gain leverage in the context of persuading governments to make human rights improvements. Indeed, some of the most valuable and effective resolutions have been the ones that were ultimately withdrawn, and instead resulted in negotiated agreements or consensus statements of the Sub-Commission Chair. Those resolutions are often able to motivate governments to sit down at the negotiating table and make concrete concessions to improve human rights.

Second, the Sub-Commission provides a high degree of accessibility and visibility to NGOs and is one efficient avenue to the Commission. NGOs participation is critical to the relevance and integrity of the institution. NGOs can provide a great service to the Sub-Commission by providing information and keeping strong links between the United Nations and the global human rights movement.

Third, because country work attracts the attention of governments, intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs, it maintains a high degree of visibility on both thematic and country-specific human rights concerns. This transparency helps ensure not only the Sub-Commission's effectiveness, but also gives human rights situations much needed visibility. Since many NGOs and governments attend the Sub-Commission in order to lobby for and against country resolutions, they might not attend if the body could not take effective action on countries. If the Sub-Commission sessions fail to receive significant attendance and attention from NGOs...