During the session, the Council reviews reports on a wide range of human rights issues and situations of concern and will engage in over 30 interactive dialogues with human rights experts, groups and mechanisms. The session opens at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 30 June under the presidency of Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger of Austria. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet presents her Annual report followed by an oral update on the human rights implications of COVID-19.

 

Under its agenda item on the promotion and protection of all human rights, on 13 July the Council will also consider the report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on visit to Uzbekistan. 

 

The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers undertook an official visit to Uzbekistan from 19 to 25 September 2019. The purpose of the visit was to assess the ongoing reform of the justice system initiated under the leadership of President Sh. Mirziyoyev.

 

The dates and venue of the forty-fourth session are subject to change in view of the evolving situation in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system, made up of 47 States which are responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.

 

The composition of the Human Rights Council at its forty-third session is as follows: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Libya, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Slovakia, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 

The President of the Human Rights Council in 2020 is Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Council’s four Vice Presidents are Nasir Ahmad Andisha of Afghanistan, Socorro Flores Liera of Mexico, Juraj Podhorský of Slovakia and Yackoley Kokou Johnson of Togo.