The Human Rights Commission: notes on its functions and procedures

The Human Rights Commission (HRC, 1946) is the most important body in the United Nations’ system of coding, promoting, protecting and overseeing human rights. In this essay, the authors describe and critically evaluate the work of the HRC in the last five decades: they recognize its vital importance as a discussion forum and a moving force in the creation of basic instruments and mechanisms to promote and oversee respect for human rights, and at the same time point out the use of these instruments and mechanisms by States —and recently by non-government organizations— in attaining political objectives unrelated to human rights. The authors also highlight the HRC’s selectivity in examining the situation of human rights in certain countries, the excessive proliferation of its mechanisms and the trend in some to adopt quasi-jurisdictional functions; according to them, this situation is explained by the bearing of facilitating scenarios, imbalances and asymmetries of the international scene on the work of that commission.