HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS M3 Policy-makers, legislators and courts make increased use of the outcomes of the international and regional human rights mechanisms. National courts took opinions of the Working Group on arbitrary detention into account on a number of occasions, including in Turkey, where two detained individuals were conditionally released and in the Republic of Korea, during a public hearing before the Supreme Court regarding conscientious objection to military service and its status under international human rights law. In the latter case, the Government informed the Working Group that the Supreme Court reversed its existing jurisprudence that consistently justified the punishment of conscientious objectors as a means of protecting public safety. As a result of the reversal, detained objectors may now be eligible to file a claim for compensation. In cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and various Member States, OHCHR organized a side event during the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, in New York, with the participation of 80 parliamentarians from 35 countries. The event promoted the establishment of parliamentary human rights committees, which was recommended in the report on the Contribution of parliaments to the work of the Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review (A/HRC/38/25). The outcome document highlights good practices of parliamentary human rights committees as an important point of reference for parliaments worldwide. M4 International human rights mechanisms contribute to the elaboration of international law and jurisprudence, in particular in the context of emerging human rights concerns (frontier issues). M5 International human rights mechanisms are increasingly effective in promoting and protecting human rights. With substantive and secretariat support from OHCHR, the human rights treaty bodies examined a large number of cases on issues such as climate change; the international custody of children; and international criminality, including human trafficking and the enforced disappearances of migrants. In all of these contexts, the treaty bodies continued to define their jurisprudence, provide legal analyses and ensure that they shared a harmonized approach. In September, five treaty bodies, namely, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), CEDAW, the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW), the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and CRPD, adopted a statement on human rights and climate change ahead of the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. Furthermore, at the CRC’s eighty-first session, in May, the Committee adopted General Comment No. 24 on children’s rights in the child justice system. In November, in its first ruling on a complaint by an individual seeking asylum due to the effects of climate change, the Human Rights Committee stated that without robust national and international efforts, the effects of climate change on sending States may trigger the non-refoulement obligations of receiving States. Finally, under its urgent action procedure, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) addressed specific recommendations to concerned States Parties regarding the challenges that arise in searching for disappeared persons along migration routes. The Committee invited these States Parties to adopt search and investigation strategies that are suited to the specific circumstances of each case and are in line with principle 9 of the Guiding Principles for the search for disappeared persons. In the context of enhancing the efficiency of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the rationalization of its initiatives, seven resolutions became biennial and three resolutions became triennial. In addition, out of the six new thematic resolutions adopted in 2019, three were one-time resolutions. One-time resolutions represent a good practice wherein a resolution is adopted on an issue that has gained political momentum in the Council. Of all “recurrent” HRC resolutions, 78 are now biennial or triennial and only 33 are annual. In 2019, UN Human Rights provided support to the President and the Bureau on streamlining the work of the Council, which resulted in the adoption of a President’s Statement on this subject. The treaty bodies became more accessible to increase their engagement with all stakeholders. The Committee against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and CED used videoconferencing and webcasting for public reviews, private hearings with NGOs, national human rights institutions (NHRIs), the UN in the field and, in the case of CAT, National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) and for joint meetings with 22 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2019 Shifts: Global Constituency Prevention Civic Space

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