International Human Rights Law (2019)

This section discusses the practice of UN human rights monitoring bodies, such as treaty bodies, UN Special Procedures and the Human Rights Council. While, unlike last year, no major instruments were adopted throughout 2019, in the form of General Comments or Guiding Principles, especially UN Special Procedures were very active in addressing disasters and climate change. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) play a leading role within the UN human rights system on such issues, including especially climate-leader Fiji, a very vocal player in the UPR this year,1 which also hosted the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment for a country visit. Because 2019 saw many developments on petitions at treaty bodies and the work of UN Special Procedures, the more day-to-day monitoring practices of the UN treaty bodies through the adoption of Concluding Observations, or the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, are not addressed this year.2