Draft decision/resolution

Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251:
Assumption by the Human Rights Council of all mandates, mechanisms,  functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights 



The Human Rights Council, 

Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 60/251 “Human Rights Council” and in particular its decision that the Human Rights Council should assume, review and, where necessary, improve and rationalize all mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights, and that this review should be completed within one year after its first session,

Stressing the importance that during this transitional period in which the Council should take decisions in order to maintain a system of special procedures, expert advice and a complaint procedure, any protection gap should be avoided, 

1.	Assumes all mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights (annex I);

2.	Also decides to extend exceptionally for one year the mandates of all Commission’s special procedures and the term of office of all mandate-holders, including the present members of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and their alternates, if any, pending a decision by the Council in conformity with General Assembly resolution 60/251,

3.	Requests the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to continue providing all the necessary support to all human rights mandates and mechanisms, so they can fully develop their work,

4.	Approves the following arrangements for the transitional period:

Special procedures

5.	Decides to consider at its next session in September 2006 the reports of all special procedures submitted to the 62nd session of the Commission on Human Rights, together with the updates, if any, through the organization of interactive dialogues with all mandate-holders; (annex II);   

6. 	Further decides to consider at its forthcoming session all other reports that were transferred to it by the Commission on Human Rights at its 62nd session (annex III);   

7.	Requests all special procedures to continue with the implementation of their mandates as established by the Commission on Human Rights and to inform the Council on their activities, as appropriate.

Expert advice

8.	Decides that, pending Council’s decision on its future expert advice system, the 58th session of the Sub- Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights shall be convened for a period of ten/fifteen working days in order to:

(d)	Prepare a paper on the Sub-Commission achievements, unfinished tasks and lessons learned, as a contribution to the discussion on the expert advice;
(c)	Complete, as appropriate, all Sub-Commission’s on-going studies and other activities, and report to the Council the status of such works;
Hold meetings of  its inter-sessional working groups, as appropriate, during five days of the session with a view to completing their work and contributing to the paper on the expert advice;
Hold meetings of its pre-sessional working groups, as appropriate, with a view to completing their work and contributing to the paper on the expert advice; 

Complaint procedure

10.	Decides that, pending Council’s decision on its future complaint procedure system, the Working Group on Communications shall hold a one-week session immediately after the 58th session of the Sub-Commission and present a report to be considered in accordance to the modalities to be established for a complaint procedure, in conformity with operative paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 60/251.

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19/06/06