From documentation to reporting for regional and international human rights bodies

1. From documentation to reporting for regional and international human rights bodies Presentation to the Documentation Training for MENA Region Defenders February 2016, Istanbul

2. Choose what action you want from your documentation… • Urgent, straightforward reporting, and open to all, but perhaps with the least amount of enforceability. (Special Mechanisms) • Longer term, but predictable, still fairly straightforward reporting, open to all, and slightly more enforceability if your government is persuaded by other governments. (UPR and State reporting) • Even more long-term, not as predictable, more in-depth reporting, only open to ratifying countries, but outcomes become part of international law. (Treaty Bodies)

3. What are the Special Procedures/Special Mechanisms ? (UN & ACHPR) • independent experts • tasked to monitor and report on human rights violations (either thematically or by country – UN only) • receive urgent appeals, communicate concerns to States, seek their response • Report to UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly and African Commission • can also raise awareness through public statements, country visits, participation in panels and expert seminars (eg Yogyakarta Principles)

4. Types of Communications There are three main kinds of communications available to the Special Procedures. All types of communication may be sent by individual Special Procedure or by a combination of them. • Allegation letters - deal with human rights situations that have already occurred. They outline the allegations involved and then request information from the government on those allegations as well as on any measures taken to provide redress to victims. They may make suggestions as to actions the government should take following on from the incidents they describe. They can deal with cases involving violations against individuals or groups and can also address more general concerns about the human rights situation in a country. • Urgent appeals, by contrast, are designed as emergency tools, to bring a halt to ongoing violations or prevent violations likely to occur. The Special Procedures aim to transmit such appeals very soon after having received information and request clarification on the status of individuals, or groups, as well as reminding governments of their responsibilities towards those persons. • Policy/legislative communications are a relatively new form of communication and are sent to register concern that an existing or proposed policy or piece of legislation has or will impact on the enjoyment of rights by certain members of the population.

5. In the UN system, the MENA Region is currently represented by: • Ms. Houria ES SLAMI (Morocco) (Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances) • Mr. Saeed MOKBIL (Yemen)(Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination) • Mr. Idriss JAZAIRY (Algeria) (Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights) • Ms. Frances RADAY (Israel/United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)(Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice) • Mr. Mohammed AYAT (Morocco)(Independent Expert on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights) • Mr. Suliman BALDO (Sudan)(Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali) • Mr. Aristide NONONSI (Benin)(Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan) • The MENA Region is previously represented by: • Mr. George Nicolas JABBOUR (Syrian Arab Republic) (Working Group on People of African Descent) • Ms. Maya SAHLI (Algeria) (Working Group on People of African Descent) • Mr. Seyyed Mahammad HASHEMI (Islamic Republic of Iran) (Working Group on Arbritrary Detention) • Ms. Leila ZERROUGUI (Algeria) (Working Group on Arbritrary Detention) • Ms. Najat MAALLA M'JID (Morocco) (Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography) • Mr.  Osman EL HAJJÉ (Lebanon) (Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances) • Mr. Saied Rajaie KHORASANI (Islamic Republic of Iran) (Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances) • Mr. Mohamed Redha AL-JABIRI (Iraq) (Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances) • Mr. Abdelfattah AMOR (Tunisia)(Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief) • Mr. Francis DENG (Sudan)(Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons) • Ms. Najat AL-HAJJAJI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)((Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination) • Ms. Fatma-Zohra OUHACHI-VESELY (Algeria)(Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes) • Mr. Ghanim ALNAJJAR (Kuwait)(Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia)

6. Confidentiality Generally the identity of the source of information is kept confidential. If you would still prefer not to have your name or that of you organization on a submission it is possible to have other NGOs submit on your behalf. In addition, persons submitting information can indicate if they require additional elements of their submission to remain confidential and not to be sent to the government concerned. That said, as the process is based on specific violations and individuals or groups, it can be hard for the Special Procedures to act on a situation if they are not able to transmit detailed information to the government concerned. This means that there is a delicate balance to be struck in sensitive cases between wanting to provide enough information for the Special Procedures to be able to act without creating a risk that the provision of such information might lead to further persecution. Furthermore, although the consent of victims is not a requirement for the submission of information, it is imperative when making a submission that attention be paid to the possible impact on those named. Consequently, NGOs should also indicate in the submission if they have the consent of the individuals or families concerned.

7. A Case Study: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, A/HRC/16/44/Add.1, 28 February 2011: Jamaica Letter of allegations 1366. On 1 December 2010, the Special Rapporteur sent a letter of allegations to the Government concerning the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J- FLAG), a human rights lobby group which advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons in Jamaica. The organisation was previously the subject of a Joint Allegation Letter sent by the then Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the then Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on 6 December 2004. As of today, no response has been received by the part of your Excellency’s Government. 1367. According to the information received, on 16 November 2010, J-FLAG was refused permission to hold a meeting regarding LGBTI issues and human rights at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston. 1368. It is reported that on 11 November 2010, J-FLAG made a booking with the said hotel to hold a meeting, on 18 November 2010, with similar organisations and stakeholders with a view to examining LGBTI-related human rights issues in Jamaica. However, on 16 November 2010, the Executive Director of J-FLAG was informed via a telephone call from the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing that due to the nature of the work carried out by J-FLAG, the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel was unwilling to allow the meeting to take place on its premises. It is alleged that this marks a change in policy on the part of the hotel, which had previously hosted groups including LGBTI persons. Response from the Government 1369. In a letter dated 31 January 2010, the Government responded to the communication dated 1 December 2010. 1370. The allegation by J-FLAG of the refusal of the Pegasus Hotel to honour a reservation to hold a meeting was investigated by the Government. The investigations revealed that the information communicated by J-FLAG to you appears to be factual. The Hotel’s decision was related to a number of concerns, which included the need to protect both the meeting attendees and the hotel, as a prior event hosted by a pro-gay group was marred by unsatisfactory behaviour. 1371. Following the incident, a meeting was convened between J-FLAG and the hotel where an amicable agreement was reached on future arrangements, The parties agreed that a designed member of the hotel staff would address reservation requests from J-FLAG and on confirmation of such requests, consultations will be done on the tilting and listing of the event on the hotel’s notice board. Observations 1372. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government for responding to her communication dated 1 December 2010. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the existence of an environment which is conducive to the work of all human rights defenders. Link to full text of the report: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/docs/A.HRC.16.44.Add.1_EFSonly.pdf

8. What should be included? The process of submitting information is relatively straightforward and the information that activists or advocates already have can usually be turned into a submission with relatively few resources. For the majority of the Special Procedures the following essential information should be included: - Information about the authors of the communication and the sources of information (which is kept confidential). This should include contact details. - You should state whether the situation is urgent. - The name of victim(s), age, sex, place of origin and/or residence. If the allegation concerns a large group then information should be provided about that body. - Details about the allegation including place and date of violation. This should be kept relatively short but supporting documents and photos can be annexed to provide more information. In the case of communications about a law or policy you should provide details of how it operates and why its impact is concerning. - The perpetrators, including, if possible, names, titles/functions, as well as any possible motive. - Provide any required background such as relevant legal framework etc. This is particularly important in the case of submissions concerning a general situation. - Outline actions taken / remedy already sought at national and international level.

9. What should be included? The process of submitting information is relatively straightforward and the information that activists or advocates already have can usually be turned into a submission with relatively few resources. For the majority of the Special Procedures the following essential information should be included: - Information about the authors of the communication and the sources of information (which is kept confidential). This should include contact details. - You should state whether the situation is urgent. - The name of victim(s), age, sex, place of origin and/or residence. If the allegation concerns a large group then information should be provided about that body. - Details about the allegation including place and date of violation. This should be kept relatively short but supporting documents and photos can be annexed to provide more information. In the case of communications about a law or policy you should provide details of how it operates and why its impact is concerning. - The perpetrators, including, if possible, names, titles/functions, as well as any possible motive. - Provide any required background such as relevant legal framework etc. This is particularly important in the case of submissions concerning a general situation. - Outline actions taken / remedy already sought at national and international level.

10. To contact UN Special Procedures: To contact ACHPR Special Mechanisms: • http://www.achpr.org/mechanisms/ • Click on “Contact Commissioner” urgent-action@ohchr.org www.ohchr.org/SP/HRBodies/Pages/HumanRightsBodies.aspx

11. Guide to the SPs

12. The Universal Periodic Review (UN) and State Reporting (ACHPR) These are mechanisms of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. The human rights records of all member States is reviewed on an ongoing, regular basis. The UPR will ensure that the human rights records of all UN member States will be regularly reviewed on a 4-year cycle. This means that 48 States will be reviewed per year, 16 at each of three sessions annually. The ACHPR requires country-reporting every two years, although some States do not follow this schedule and get behind on reporting. This is not the case within the UN system. The UPR is intended to be a cooperative mechanism, designed to assist States in fulfilling their international commitments and improving their human rights situation. The next slide outlines the reporting timetable for Round 2 of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

14. Threereports are submitted: the State’s National Report a compilation of UN Information a compilation of NGO information

15. up to 5 pages • concrete recommendations to improve human rights situation • online submission system at https://uprdoc.ohchr.org • Please also e-mail to arc@arc-international.net NGO reports:

16. Step 1: submit input report You must register an account and then use the online submission system at http://uprdoc.ohchr.org . Please also send a copy to arc@arc-international.net so that we know what information has been submitted and can make use of it in follow-up advocacy. 

17. Samples of SOGI references from previous MENA-region UPR reviews 1. Egypt (2nd cycle) No specific recommendations made by States but COC Netherlands and ILGA noted that Egypt had no explicit law criminalizing homosexuality, but “debauchery,” prostitution and blasphemy laws were used against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex community. Egypt had announced that it would eradicate homosexuality through a surveillance system violating the right to privacy. 2. Tunisia (2nd cycle) Recommendations:To put in place a comprehensive strategy to eliminate patriarchal attitudes and negative stereotypes of women in the Tunisian society as well as eliminate discrimination against women that still exists in the national legislation. Response: accepted. To decriminalise same sex relations between consenting adults. Response: rejected. To abolish legislation discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, in order to guarantee the same rights to all citizens, including LGBT persons. Response: pending.

18. SOGI references from previous UPR reviews 3. Morocco (2nd cycle) There were no references to sexual orientation or gender identity in the input reports to the 13th session. However, the Summary of Stakeholders’ Information in the previous cycle highlighted the fact that Morocco maintains criminal sanctions against some forms of sexual activity between consenting adults.There were no references to sexual orientation or gender identity during the review of the Working Group, or during the review and adoption of the final report. 4. Algeria (2nd cycle) Recommendations:toeliminate legislation criminalizing sexual relations between persons of the same sex, as well as discriminatory legislation on the ground of sexual orientation and guarantee the right to the protection of privacy to all persons. Response: pending. There was no mentioning of sexual orientation and gender identity in the adoption of the final report. 5. Sudan (1st cycle) Stakeholder report stated that the 1991 Penal Code of the Sudan (Act No. 8 1991) and the Penal Code adopted in Southern Sudan imposed criminal sanctions on some forms of sexual activity between consenting adults. It recommended that the Sudan bring its laws in conformity with its international human rights obligations, by repealing all provisions which may be applied to criminalise sexual activity between consenting adults.

19. Guide to the UPR

20. What are the Treaty Bodies ? (UN) • Treaty bodies are made up of independent experts whose task is to monitor whether the State is violating human rights. They can only review States that have ratified the given treaty. During each review the Treaty body publishes a report and makes recommendations, also called concluding observations to the State. • You will find Treaty body reports a useful tool for your work, if you need detailed recommendations about an issue. A Treaty body review is much more detailed as you have a body dedicated to one particular topic that can be explored in depth. The reviews usually last at least 6 hours in most cases, so there is time for the Committee Members to go into a lengthy discussion of the issues. The resulting recommendations can focus on the particular language in a law for example. They can be very useful in meetings with the government or other national agencies back in your country. These recommendations are binding, which means that your government has to implement them.

21. UPR report to shadow report • Analyse the Treaty text • Choose articles most relevant for the human rights violations you want to address • Select sections of UPR report that are relevant • Add new data / information to substantiate the claim • Add references to UPR recommendations and the States pledges in response • Include information on implementation of UPR pledges by the State • Add reference of other Treaty Bodies on the State