NON-PAPER - EUROPEAN UNION
FUTURE AGENDA FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

A future agenda of the Human Rights Council needs to provide both predictability and flexibility:
1. Predictability:
provides all stakeholders with the clarity that certain issues of key interest to them will be discussed and acted upon during the course of a year
allows all stakeholders to plan their activities in preparation for handling those issues
allows NGOs, NHRIs and other non-governmental stakeholders to plan their attendance
2. Flexibility:
enables issues to be spread through the year in a manner that makes operational sense (eg coinciding with events/reports on related issues)
enables the Council to be responsive to developments on the ground
requires states to reflect annually on what issues they most want to raise, rather than assuming that every year  and every session will bring the same specific issues
Every session should have the same basic agenda to avoid the need to renegotiate it every time.  The only exception to this would be the High Level Segment, which would occur only once a year at the Main Session.  
The basic agenda should include:
report/update from the High Commissioner and interactive dialogue (report at main session, update at others)
urgent situations (to be notified to the President preferably 7 days prior to the start of the Council session)
reports from Special Procedures and interactive dialogue (the presentation of reports by Special Procedures to be evenly distributed throughout the year). 
promotion and protection of human rights (see below on detail of this agenda item)
recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review and complaints mechanisms for decisions by the Council 
expert advice (receipt and discussion of expert advice solicited by Council)
adoption of the report of the session.

The specific issues to be addressed under ’promotion and protection of human rights’ would change each session.  To provide predictability and flexibility, the following mechanism could be envisaged prior to the March main session, all delegations submit to the President the issues they wish to see addressed in the Council sessions over the coming year. 
The Bureau agrees an allocation of these issues across the sessions, taking account of the length of the session and the time available at each session, when the issue was last considered and an even distribution of issues over the year.
This is without prejudice to:
The ability of delegations to withdraw proposed initiatives at any time
The ability of delegations to raise urgent situations or issues, preferably 7 days prior to any session, for inclusion in the programme of work
Special sessions on urgent issues at any time, subject to the conditions set out in A/60/251.
The Council would agree the preliminary annual programme of work proposed by the Bureau before the end of its March session.










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