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Special Procedures

UN special procedures refer to independent human rights experts mandated by the Human Rights Council, or its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, to advise and report on thematic issues related to human rights or on specific countries facing particularly concerning human rights situations. Special procedures can be individuals, such as Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts, or five-person Working Groups comprising independent experts from each of the UN regional groups.

A special procedure is generally created by a Human Rights Council resolution establishing a mandate, which outlines its thematic or country focus and responsibilities. The activities of a special procedure may include country visits, communications to member states bringing alleged human rights violations to their attention, issuing reports and conducting thematic studies, as well as consultations. Candidates for special procedures are nominated by a broad range of actors including states, non-governmental organizations, and individuals. A Consultative Group within the Human Rights Council then evaluates the nominees and recommends candidates to the Council president based on factors such as expertise, experience, independence, impartiality, and personal integrity.

Since the creation of the first special procedures—the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on South Africa and the Special Rapporteur on Apartheid, in 1967—the number and functions of special procedures have been steadily growing. In 1980, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was created, introducing the first thematic, rather than country-specific, mandate. It was quickly followed by more thematic mandates, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions in 1982, and Special Rapporteur on torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in 1985. As of March 27, 2015 there are 41 thematic mandates covering a wide range of issues pertaining to civil and political rights, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights, and 14 country-specific mandates.

Key Working Methods of the Special Procedures
HRIC Submissions to UN Special Procedures

2021

Related:

  • UN Special Rapporteurs’ communication to China on the erosion of the right to freedom of speech, education, and academic freedom in Hong Kong. August 13, 2021, made public on October 12, 2021: EN
     

2019

2016

HRIC Resources
Other Resources
  • Office of the High Commission on Human Rights special procedures webpage: EN, CH
  • Universal Rights Group report, “Special procedures: determinants of influence” (2014): EN
  • ESCR-Net, “Manual on the special procedures of the Human Rights Council” (2006): EN
  • More about Special Procedures: EN
  • Special Procedures’ scheduled visits (regularly updated calendar): EN