Twenty civil society organizations, including the Baha’i International Community, have jointly produced a major paper outlining a series of concrete steps to make the UN Human Rights Council stronger and more effective.

Released yesterday, the paper is titled “Strengthening the Human Rights Council at 10.” It was created in observance of the tenth anniversary of the Council’s establishment.

“The Human Rights Council is the central international organ for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world,” said Diane Ala’i, a representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

“Our goal, in laying out these proposed measures, is to improve its functioning now that we have had ten years of experience, so that the Council can increase its capacity to uphold human rights worldwide and protect innocent victims from violations,” said Ms. Ala’i.

Among other things, the paper says that:

• Membership in the Council must be tied to concrete contributions to protecting rights at home and internationally.
• Human Rights Council decisions must move from paper to implementation.
• Chronic and urgent situations of human rights violations must be addressed swiftly and robustly.
• Human rights defenders and civil society must be protected and supported in addressing the UN.

The full paper can be read here.