THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
 

"The Commission on Human Rights is a vital part of the Organization, with a glorious history, which includes the drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. People all over the world look to it for protection of their rights and for help to win for themselves the better standards of life in larger freedom referred to in the preamble to the Charter."

      - Kofi Annan, "Strengthening of the United Nations: an Agenda for Further
        Change" (A/57/387)

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is the foremost UN body on human rights issues.  It:

• Functions, in collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), as the UN's nerve center for human rights;

• Establishes the UN agenda on human rights;

• Draws negative attention to State human rights violators;

• Sets and applies human rights standards;

• Investigates complaints of human rights;

• Monitors existing human rights practices;

• Recommends the creation of new human rights standards; and

• Develops proposals for new UN programs related to human rights

The former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira De Mello, said of the CHR: "This is the center ring. There is not a single major human rights issue that is not brought to this forum by governments, nongovernmental organizations, national institutions, special rapporteurs or independent experts. Governments take note of these issues; journalists report them; [and] civil society plays the critical role of defending the underdog."

Click the links below for further information about the Commission on Human Rights.

A Brief Overview of the CHR

History of the CHR

Membership in the CHR

Participation by Civil Society

Agenda and Resolutions

The Use of Special Procedures

Other UN Human Rights Bodies

Conclusion