United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

In the context of the Southeast Asian Region, the United Nations human rights mechanisms can easily be resorted to since all the Southeast Asian states are members of the UN. Moreover, it is easier to file communications before the UN Mechanism, compared to filling communication before treaty-based bodies (ex. Human Rights Committee for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR).

Within the UN system, the Human Rights Council is the inter-governmental body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights in the world, and for addressing situations of human rights violations and to make recommendations on these. The Human Rights Council has the authority to discuss all thematic human rights issues (ex. freedom of expression) and situations that require its attention throughout the year. The Human Rights Council meets at the UN Office at Geneva.

Please note that the UN Human Rights Council (a body within the UN system) is different from the Human Rights Committee (which is a treaty-based body under the ICCPR and the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR).

The UN human rights mechanisms include:

- the UN Human Rights Council;

- the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;

- the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression;

- the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders; and 

- the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, and the UNESCO.