The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold its fifty-eighth regular session from 24 February to 4 April 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, starting with its high-level segment from 24 to 26 February, when dignitaries representing more than 100 Member States will address the Council.
The session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 24 February under the Presidency of Ambassador JΓΌrg Lauber of Switzerland. Delivering statements at the opening will be the Secretary-General of the United Nations, AntΓ³nio Guterres; the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Philemon Yang; the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TΓΌrk; as well as the Chief of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis. The Council will be meeting in room XX of the Palais des Nations.
On Monday, 3 March, the Council is scheduled to hear a global update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights around the world. The general debate on his global update will start following his presentation of a number of country-specific reports and updates.
During the session, the Council will hold 30 interactive dialogues with the High Commissioner, his Office and designated experts, with Special Procedure mandate holders and investigative mechanisms, and with Special Representatives of the Secretary-General. The Council will also hold five enhanced interactive dialogues and one high-level dialogue, as well as nine general debates.
The Council will also hold the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming with a focus on the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty; panel discussions on early warning and genocide, HIV response and leaving no one behind, and on rights to work and to social security; the annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities; the annual discussion on the rights of the child; and a commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The Council will examine the situation of human rights in a number of countries under its various agenda items, including the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Myanmar under agenda item two; in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Belarus, the Democratic Peopleβs Republic of Korea, and Myanmar under agenda item four; and in Mali, Haiti, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic under agenda item 10.
The final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 States will also be considered, namely those of Norway, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, CΓ΄te dβIvoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar and Nicaragua.
Towards the end of the session, the Council will appoint three new members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
First Week of the Session
The fifty-eighth regular session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 24 February with a short opening meeting, followed by the start of the high-level segment, which will continue until 26 February, and during which the Council will hear addresses by more than 100 dignitaries. Intervening during the high-level segment will be the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming in the afternoon of 24 February and the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty in the morning of Tuesday, 25 February. The general segment will follow the conclusion of the high-level segment in the afternoon of Wednesday, 26 February.
On Thursday, 27 February, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue on the High Commissionerβs report on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, followed by enhanced interactive dialogues on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and on the High Commissionerβs report on Sudan, with the assistance of the designated Expert. Friday, 28 February, will see the conclusion of the discussion on Sudan, followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. This will be followed by three interactive dialogues, the first on the report of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, the second with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and the third on the High Commissionerβs oral update on Myanmar.
Second Week of the Session
At the beginning of the second week, on the morning of Monday, 3 March, the Council will hear the High Commissionerβs global update, then conclude the interactive dialogue on the High Commissionerβs oral update on Myanmar. This will be followed by the presentation of reports on the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, and of another report on Cyprus, and oral updates on Sri Lanka and Nicaragua. The Council will then begin the general debate under agenda item two, namely the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, which will conclude on Tuesday, 4 March. The Council will subsequently begin its considerations under agenda item three on the promotion and protection of all human rights, holding interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
On the morning of Wednesday, 5 March, the Council will hold a panel on early warning and genocide prevention, then conclude its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. This will be followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on transitional justice. Another panel will be held on Thursday, 6 March on HIV response and leaving no one behind, in addition to two interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. A third panel will be held in the morning of Friday, 7 Marchon rights to work and to social security, followed by two interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing and the Independent Expert on the rights of persons with albinism.
Third Week of the Session
The Council will start its third week on Monday, 10 March with a focus on disability, beginning with an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, to be followed by the annual debate on the rights of persons with disabilities. The day will conclude with an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on foreign debt, which will continue in the morning of Tuesday, 11 March. Two more interactive dialogues will also be held on Tuesday with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
Wednesday, 12 March will see a further three interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, and the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on violence against children and on children and armed conflict, the latter of which will conclude on Thursday, 13 March. The focus on children will continue on Thursday, with the Council also holding its annual discussion on the rights of the child, the theme of which will be early childhood development, and starting an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, which will conclude on Friday, 14 March.
On Friday, an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment will precede the presentation of reports by the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, the Secretary-General, the High Commissioner and his Office, followed by the start of the general debate on agenda item three.
Fourth Week of the Session
The first day of the Councilβs fourth week, Monday 17 March, will be devoted to concluding the general debate on agenda item three. From Tuesday, 18 March, consideration of agenda item four, human rights situations that require the Councilβs attention, will begin. First on the schedule is a joint interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and the independent international fact-finding mission on the situation of human rights in Iran, followed by interactive dialogues with the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria, the fact-finding mission on Venezuela and the independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine.
On Wednesday, 19 March, after the conclusion of the dialogue with the commission of inquiry on Ukraine, three more separate interactive dialogues will be held with the group of independent experts on the situation of human rights in Belarus and with the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Peopleβs Republic of Korea and in Myanmar.
Thursday, 20 March, will see the Council hear the presentation of the High Commissionerβs report on the Democratic Peopleβs Republic of Korea and his oral update of the situation of human rights in Venezuela. This will be followed by the general debate on agenda item four, which will conclude on the morning of Friday, 21 March. On Friday, the Council will also hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, before beginning considerations under agenda item five on human rights bodies and mechanisms. After hearing the presentation of reports by the Forum on Minority Issues, the Social Forum, and the Special Procedures of the Council, it will commence the general debate on agenda item five.
Fifth Week of the Session
The Council will start its fifth week on Monday, 24 March with its consideration under agenda item six of the final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Reviews of 14 States: Norway, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, CΓ΄te dβIvoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar and Nicaragua. This consideration will continue through to the morning of Wednesday, 26 March, after which the Council will hold a general debate on agenda item six. This will be followed by the presentation of the reports of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General under agenda item seven, namely the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, and the general debate on this agenda item. The general debate under agenda item eight – follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action β is also scheduled to commence on Wednesday afternoon.
Ending racism will be the Councilβs theme for Thursday, 27 March. After concluding the debate under agenda item eight, it will hear the presentation of the report of the intergovernmental working group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, then hold its general debate on agenda item nine, namely racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., the Council will also hold a meeting in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Friday, 28 March will begin with the conclusion of the debate under agenda item nine, followed by three interactive dialogues conducted under agenda item 10 on technical assistance and capacity-building. The first dialogue will be with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali; the second on the High Commissionerβs report on the situation of human rights in Haiti, with the participation of the Independent Expert on the subject; and the third on the High Commissionerβs oral update on the situation of human rights in Ukraine.