Délégation Permanente de L’UNION AFRICAINE A GENEVE Téléphone : (41-22) 716 06 40 Téléfax : (41-22) 731 68 18 mailto:AU-Geneva@africa-union-gvao.org AU-Geneva@africa-union-gvao.org PErmanent delegation of the african union in geneva 36, rue des Pâquis C.P. 127 – 1211 Genève 21 Suisse (Switzerland) mailto:mission-observer.au@africanunion.ch mission-observer.au@africanunion.ch HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ***** Revision of Mandates Working Group on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of Resolution 60/251 ***** Draft Resolution/ Rev.1: Code of Conduct for Mandate Holders of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council Algeria on behalf of the African Group Geneva, 05 June 2007 The Human Rights Council, Guided by the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Recalling the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted on 25 June 1993 by the World Conference on Human Rights; Recalling that in its Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, entitled “Human Rights Council”, the General Assembly: - stressed the importance of “ensuring universality, objectivity and non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues and the elimination of double standards and politicization”; further recognized that the promotion and protection of human rights “should be based on the principles of cooperation and genuine dialogue and aimed at strengthening the capacity of Member States to comply with their human rights obligations for the benefit of all human beings”; decided that “the work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation, with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development”; also decided that “the method of work of the Council shall be transparent, fair and impartial and shall enable genuine dialogue, be results-oriented, allow for subsequent follow-up discussions to recommendations and their implementation and also allow for substantive interaction with special procedures and mechanisms”; Underlining the centrality of the notions of impartiality and objectivity, as well as the expertise of mandate-holders, within the context of special procedures, along with the need to give the required degree of attention to all human rights violations, wherever they may be taking place; Bearing in mind that the efficiency of the system of special procedures should be reinforced through the consolidation of the status of mandate-holders and the adoption of principles and regulations taking the specificities of their mandate into consideration; Considering that it is necessary to assist all stakeholders, including States, human rights national institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals, to better understand and support the activities of mandate-holders; Noting articles 100, 104, 105 of the United Nations Charter; Noting section 22 of article VI of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, dated 13 February 1946; Noting paragraph 6 of Resolution 60/251 of the General Assembly of 15 March 2006; Noting Decision 1/102 of the Council, of 30 June 2006, exceptionally extending the mandates and mandate holders of the special procedures of the Human Rights Commission, the Sub-Commission for the promotion and the protection of human rights for one year, as well as the procedure that was established pursuant to Resolution 1503 (XLVIII) of the Economic and Social Council, of 27 May 1970; Noting also its Decision 1/104, of 30 June 2006, establishing the Open-ended, Inter-sessional, Intergovernmental Working Group entrusted with the task of formulating recommendations on the issue of the review, and possibly the enhancement and rationalization of all mandates, mechanisms, functions and attributions of the Human Rights Commission, in order to maintain a regime of special procedures compliant with paragraph 6 of resolution 60/251 mentioned above; Noting further its Resolution 2/1, of 27 November 2006 requesting the Open-ended, Inter-sessional, Intergovernmental Working Group to “draft a code of conduct regulating the work of the special procedures” Considering that this Code of Conduct is an integral part of the review, improvement and rationalization called for by resolution 60/251 that inter alia seeks to enhance the cooperation between Governments and mandate-holders which is essential for the effective functioning of the system; Considering that without prejudice to the independence of mandate-holders, a certain number of measures could be taken to ensure the proper discharge of their prerogatives; Considering that such a Code of conduct will strengthen the capacity of mandate-holders to exercise their functions whilst enhancing their moral authority and credibility and will require supportive action by other stakeholders, and in particular by States; Also considering that one should distinguish between on the one hand, the independence of mandate-holders, which is absolute in nature, and on the other hand, their prerogatives, as circumscribed by their mandate, the mandate of the Human Rights Council, and the provisions of the United Nations Charter; Further considering that it is desirable to spell out, complete, and increase the visibility of the rules and principles governing the behaviour of mandate-holders; Noting the Regulations governing the Status, Basic Rights and Duties of non UN Secretariat Officials and Experts on Mission that was adopted by the General Assembly on 27 March 2002; Noting the United Nations Manual of Special Procedures on Human Rights adopted in 1999 during the sixth annual meeting of mandate-holders, as revised; Taking note of the deliberations and proposals of the Open-ended, Inter-sessional, Intergovernmental Working Group on Review of Mandates; Adopts the Code of Conduct for mandate-holders under the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, herewith appended and whose provisions should be disseminated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the mandate-holders, to the Member States of the United Nations and to other concerned parties. ANNEX Draft Code of Conduct for the mandate-Holders under the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council Article 1 – Purpose of the Code of Conduct The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to define the standards of professional conduct and ethical behaviour that mandate-holders under the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council (hereinafter referred to as “mandate-holders”) shall observe whilst discharging their mandates. Article 2 – Status of the Code of conduct a) The provisions of this Code have mutual complementarity with those of the Regulations governing the Status, Basic Rights and Duties of non UN Secretariat Officials and Experts on Mission (ST/SGB/2002/9). b) The provisions of the Manual of Special Procedures on Human Rights should be in consonance with those of the present Code. c) Mandate-holders are provided by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, along with the documentation pertaining to their mission, with a copy of this Code of which they must acknowledge receipt. Article 3 – General principles of conduct Mandate-holders are independent United Nations experts. While discharging their mandate, mandate-holders shall : a) act in an independent capacity; and exercise their functions in accordance with their mandate, through a professional, impartial assessment of facts based on internationally recognized human rights standards and international humanitarian law, without any kind of outside influence, incitement, pressure, threat or interference, either direct or indirect, on the part of any party, whether stakeholder or not, for any reason whatsoever, the notion of independence being linked to the status of mandate-holders, and to their freedom to assess the human rights questions that they are called upon to examine under their mandate. b) keep in mind the mandate of the Council to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights, through dialogue and cooperation as specified in General Assembly resolution 60/251; c) exercise their functions in accordance with their mandate and in compliance with the UN Regulations governing the Status of Experts on mission as well as with the present Code; d) focus exclusively on the implementation of their mandate, constantly keeping in mind their fundamental obligations to observe the truth, loyalty and independence pertaining to their mandate; e) uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, meaning, in particular, though not exclusively, probity, impartiality, equity, honesty and good faith; f) neither seek nor accept instructions from any Government, individual, governmental or non-governmental organisation or pressure group whatsoever; g) adopt a conduct that is consistent with their status, at all times; h) be aware of the importance of their duties and responsibilities, taking the particular nature of their mandate into consideration and behaving in such a way as to maintain and reinforce the trust they enjoy from all stakeholders; i) not use their office or knowledge gained from their functions for private gain, financial or otherwise, or for the gain and/ or detriment of any family member, close associate, or third party; j) not accept any honour, decoration, favour, gift or remuneration from any governmental or non-governmental source for activities carried out in pursuit of his/her mandate. Article 4 – Status of mandate-holders a) Mandate-holders exercise their functions on a personal basis, their responsibilities not being national but exclusively international. a) When exercising their functions, the mandate-holders enjoy the privileges and immunities provided for under section 22 of Article VI of the United Nations Convention on Privileges and Immunities; c) Notwithstanding these privileges and immunities, the mandate-holders shall carry out their mandate while respecting the national legislation and regulations of the country wherein they are exercising their missions. Article 5 – Solemn declaration Prior to assuming their functions, mandate-holders shall make in open sitting of the Human Rights Council (hereinafter referred to as the “Council”), the following solemn declaration: “I solemnly declare that I shall perform my duties and exercise my functions from a completely impartial, loyal and conscientious standpoint, while being scrupulously, truthful, and that I shall discharge these functions and regulate my conduct in a manner totally in keeping with the terms of my mandate, the United Nations Charter and the interests of the Organization of the United Nations, without seeking or accepting any instruction from any other party whatsoever”. Article 6 – Prerogatives Without prejudice to prerogatives for which provision is made as part of their mandate, the mandate-holders shall: a) always seek to establish the facts, based on objective, reliable information emanating from relevant credible sources, that they have duly cross-checked ; b) take into account in a comprehensive timely manner in particular information provided by the State concerned on situations relevant to their mandate; c) evaluate all information in light of universally recognized human rights standards relevant to their mandate, and of international conventions ratified by the State concerned; d) be entitled to bring to the attention of the Human Rights Council any grave and persisting shortage of Human or material resources likely to undermine the fulfillment of their prerogatives. Article 7 – Observance of the terms of the mandate It is incumbent on the mandate-holders to exercise their functions in strict observance of their mandate and in particular to ensure that their recommendations do not exceed this mandate or the mandate of the Council itself. Article 8 – Sources of information In their information-gathering activities the mandate-holders shall: a) be guided by the principles of discretion, transparency and impartiality, and exercise even-handedness ; b) rely on objective and dependable facts based on adequate evidentiary standards in drawing up their reports and conclusions, c) give representatives of the concerned State the opportunity of commenting their assessment and of responding to the allegations made against this State, and annex the State’s written responses to their reports. Article 9– Letters of Allegations While dealing with letters of allegations, the mandate-holders shall: Assess their conformance to the admissibility criteria as follows The communications should not have political motivations and their object should not be inconsistent with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other applicable instruments in the field of Human Rights Law; The communications should not contain a factual description of the alleged violations, including the rights which are alleged to be violated; or The language in the communications should not be abusive; The communications should be submitted by a person or a group of persons claiming to be the victim of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms or by any person or group of persons, including NGOs acting in good faith in accordance with principles of human rights, not resorting to politically motivated stands contrary to the provisions of the UN Charter and claiming to have direct and reliable knowledge of those violations; The communications should not be exclusively based on reports disseminated by mass media; The communication should not refers to a situation that is being or already has been dealt with by a Special Procedure, a Treaty Body or other UN or similar regional complaints procedure in the field of human rights; The domestic remedies should be exhausted, unless it is shown convincingly that such remedies would be ineffective or unreasonably prolonged. Article 10 – Field visits Mandate-holders shall: a) ensure that their visit is conducted in compliance with the terms of reference of their mandate; b) ensure that their visit is conducted with the consent, or at the invitation, of the concerned State; c) prepare their visit in close collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the concerned State accredited to the United Nations Office in Geneva; d) finalize the official programme of their visits directly with the host country representatives with administrative and logistical back-up from the local United Nations Agency/Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. e) seek to establish a dialogue with the relevant Government authorities and with other stakeholders; the promotion of dialogue and cooperation being a shared obligation of the mandate-holders, the concerned State and the said stakeholders; f) remain while on mission, for security reason , in the care of the host authorities at all times during the visit; Article 11 – The non-political nature of the mandate a) The mandate-holders shall bear in mind the non-political nature of their mandate and ensure that their opinions, convictions and declarations are without prejudice to the execution of their mission, and have no influence on their conclusions and recommendations. b) They shall therefore show restraint, moderation and discretion so as not to undermine the independent nature of their mandate or the environment necessary to properly discharge the said mandate. Article 12 - Recommendations and conclusions Mandate-holders shall: a) avoid making public statements concerning allegations of human rights violations that have not been previously addressed to the concerned State with adequate time for investigation, reply and, when appropriate, action; b) avoid making any declaration that is incompatible with their mandate and the integrity, independence and impartiality which their status requires, and which is likely to undermine a constructive dialogue among stakeholders or hamper cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights; c) ensure that the concerned Government authorities are the first recipients of their conclusions, recommendations, concerning this State and that likewise the Council is the first recipient of conclusions and recommendations addressed to this body; Article 13 – Communication with Governments Considering that the Permanent Missions accredited to the United Nations Office in Geneva, which are the official diplomatic channel for correspondence between the Organization and Member States, are also the most efficient and expeditious channel for eliciting responses to human rights allegations, mandate-holders shall ensure that all their communications to the Government of a State concerned, including under an urgency procedure, are addressed exclusively to such Permanent Missions. In case no Mission is accredited to the UNOG, mandate-holders shall address such communications to the Country’s Permanent Mission to the Office of the United Nations in New York. Article 14 – Urgent appeals Mandate-holders shall only resort to urgent appeals to address alleged violations of human rights having caused losse of human life or witch are eminently life-threatening. Article 15 – Relations with the Council In the fulfillment of their mission, mandate-holders are accountable to the Council, which appoints them and defines their mandate. Article 16 – Ethics Committee For the purpose of giving effect to this Code and, in particular, with a view to ensuring compliance with all its provisions, an Ethics Committee of the Human Rights Council shall be established. (Membership and functions to be determined during ongoing negotiations). ------------------------------   3 Code of Conduct: Tuesday 13 March 207