"Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 2008 Report: Activities and Results" - May 2009
At the launch of OHCHR's "2008 Report on Activities and Results", the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called 2008 a "landmark year for the human rights community," pointing to a number of significant institutional reforms, new international legal instruments and a series of historic milestones, among them the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The year also saw a change in leadership as Navi Pillay took over from Louise Arbour as the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2008 was a record year for donations to the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, but the office also faced serious fund-raising challenges. "There cannot be a worse time for the United Nations to scale back its human rights activities as the economic crisis is endangering the livelihoods and rights of millions of the world's poorest and most vulnerable," Pillay emphasized at the launch of the report. The work of OHCHR human rights officers in the field contributes to many human rights advances. For example, the report finds that conditions in prisons were improved in Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti and southern Sudan following OHCHR intervention.
In 2008, the Human Rights Council with the support of OHCHR began its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. UPR involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. By the end of the year, 48 countries had been assessed. The UPR ultimate aim is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur. Last year they went on 53 missions and provided the Council with 135 reports.
2008 will be remembered as the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration was only one of a number of milestones commemorated during the year. 2008 marked 60 years since the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The adoption of this Convention signified a first, concerted effort by the world community to consign to history the horrors of the Holocaust, and 15 years since the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, which led to the creation of the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights and subsequently the establishment of the Office in its present form.
These and other developments are described in detail in this review of OHCHR's work in 2008. The report documents the many activities undertaken during the year, presents an assessment of results achieved, and identifies some of the challenges encountered. It also contains detailed information on funding sources and expenditure.
Read the report online:
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