GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS obligations for the Member States who have signed the treaty. When a national government ratifies a treaty, the content of that treaty should be incorporated into its domestic legal order, subject to transformation. Treaty body: A group of experts set up according to the terms of a treaty to monitor each State Party’s progress in fulfilling its obligations under that treaty. Also called a committee, a treaty-based body or a treaty monitoring body. Treaty obligation: The duties and responsibilities assumed by a State once it has become a party to an international treaty. In terms of economic, social and cultural rights, state obligations are usually seen as three-fold, i.e. as obligations to respect, protect and fulfill. Triage: The process of sorting through the numerous inquiries and potential human rights complaints that are made in-person, in writing or electronically to determine which can and should be investigated by the NHRI, as well as which require immediate or special attention. This process weeds out out-of-jurisdiction cases and identifies cases requiring immediate attention. UN Country Team (UNCT): The family of UN organisations involved in a particular country, including UN Specialised Agencies, Funds and Programmes. UN Global Compact: Launched in 2000 as a policy platform and a practical framework for companies committed to sustainability and responsible business practices. As a leadership initiative endorsed by chief executives, it seeks to align business operations and strategies everywhere with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Unincorporated convention: An international agreement that has been ratified by a state, but that has not been implemented domestically through the process by which a state adopts all relevant policies, laws, and regulations, and undertakes all necessary actions to meet its obligations under the agreement. Universal Periodic Review (UPR): The Universal Periodical Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council is a fundamental tool to measure the extent to which each State has fulfilled its human rights obligations and commitments. The UPR is to look at best practices but also at challenges and obstacles that a State might face, based on information provided by the State concerned; reports of Treaty bodies, special procedures, and other United Nations documents deemed relevant by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and information from other relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and NHRIs. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action: Consensus document arising from the 1993 United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. It states that human rights are universal, indivisible, interconnected and interrelated and underlines the need for assisting States in the task of building and strengthening national institutions and legal systems in the field of human rights. It also affirms that the human rights of women are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights and recognizes violence against women as a human rights violation. Vienna World Conference on Human Rights: World Conference on human rights held in Vienna in 1993; produced the Vienna Declaration and Programme for Action. Women’s human rights advocates used the conference to advocate for recognition of women’s human rights. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WG): The WG was established in 1991 and its mandate under the Human Rights Council includes the investigating of cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily and to seek and receive information from Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and receive information from the individuals concerned, their families or their representatives. UNCTs can provide information to NHRIs about the Working Group and its procedures. NHRIs can support the international human rights system and fulfill their domestic mandate by supporting efforts by entities such as the WG. xxi

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents