Human Rights Check UK

The Universal Periodic Review

The British Institute of Human Rights has been running Human Rights Check UK, a project to coordinate and draft the joint civil society report ahead of the United Nations review of the UK's human rights situation at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Read our Joint Civil Society Report, launched on 22 Sept 2016

Below you can find out more about the UPR and BIHR's project to empower civil society groups to be heard in this important international human rights process. Key aspects of this project have been made possible with funding by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

What is the Universal Periodic Review?

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a key way the United Nations (UN) reviews and seeks to improve the human rights situations of all the 193 countries (States) that are members of the UN. The UPR is run through a part of the UN called the Human Rights Council (HRC). 

The HRC is made up of 47 States that are members of the UN. These 47 members are elected by the General Assembly of the UN for three year terms, and represent the different geographic regions of the world. The HRC is a key UN body working on the protection and promotion of human rights across the globe. Find out more about the HRC here. 

As part of the UPR process every country’s human rights situation is reviewed every 4.5 years. This means each year 42 countries are reviewed.

The Review

The review is based on three key documents:

  • The National Report (20 pages) prepared by the State concerned on the human rights situation in its country;
  • A 10-page summary prepared by the OHCHR of the information provided by civil society groups. This is where BIHR’s project comes in because we will be supporting organisations to get skilled up to contribute to a joint report (and/or submit their own reports).

Universal Periodic Review 2016