What is UPR and How Does it Affect Nepal?

October 27, 2015May 26, 2016 Puru Shah 8 Comments #FAQ, #MadhesAndolan, Deaths, End Violence, Human Rights, Human Rights Violations, Violence

Nepal UPR will begin on 04 November, 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. ‘UPR’ stands for Universal Periodic Review. If you are unfamiliar with UPR and its significance for Nepal, see a short FAQ from upr-info.org

What is UPR?

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council (HRC) aimed at improving the human rights situation on the ground of each of the 193 United Nations (UN) Member States.

How Often Does UPR Occur?

Under this mechanism, the human rights situation of all UN Member States is reviewed every 4.5 years. 42 States are reviewed each year during three Working Group sessions dedicated to 14 States each. These three sessions are usually held in January/February, May/June and October/November.

What is the Outcome of UPR?

The result of each review is reflected in an “outcome report” listing the recommendations the State under review (SuR) has to implement before the next review.

—> The UPR is a full-circle process comprised of 3 key stages:

1) Review of the human rights situation of the SuR;

2) Implementation between two reviews (4.5 years) by the SuR of the recommendations received and the voluntary pledges made;

3) Reporting at the next review on the implementation of those recommendations and pledges and on the human rights situation in the country since the previous review.

What human rights obligations are addressed?

The Institutional-building text of the Human Rights Council, as set out in resolution A/HRC/RES/5/1 of 18 June 2007, indicates that the review shall assess to what extent States respect their human rights obligations contained in:

The Charter of the United Nations;

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; [Editor’s Note: Nepal is a signatory of this. The security personnel of Nepal have violated several clauses of this declaration, read “Supreme Court of Nepal Issues Interim Order to Not Shoot During Protests“]

Human Rights instruments to which the State is party (human rights treaties ratified by the State concerned);

Voluntary pledges and commitments made by the State (including those undertaken when presenting the candidature for election to the Human Rights Council); Applicable international humanitarian law

What May be Discussed during 3.5 hour UPR Review?

More than 41 people have been killed in Nepal since August 10, many of which were due to excessive use of force by security personnel. An international human rights group, Human Rights Watch, published a report titled, “Like We are Not Nepali” that details several cases of human rights violations. These incidents violate several clauses of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and most likely will be discussed during the UPR.

How Does it Affect Nepal?

The outcome report lists recommendations aimed at improving the human rights situation in Nepal. The government of Nepal will make voluntary pledges to follow these recommendations, which will be reviewed during the next UPR.

What Recommendations were made to Nepal in the past and have they been followed?

Visit this database by upr-info.org for a complete listing of recommendations that were made by other UN countries and their status on whether they were accepted or simply ‘noted’.

See this UN National Report from 2011 for Nepal, following the UPR review.

See a livestream of tweets for hashtag #NepalUPR.