http://reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-7S888W/$file/OHCHR_Report_2008.pdf?openelement
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) passed several historic milestones in 2008, including a number of significant institutional developments, the adoption of new international legal instruments, a change of High Commissioner and three highly symbolic anniversaries.
Among notable developments was the launch, in April, of the Human Rights Council's new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, in which OHCHR plays an important facilitative role. Under the UPR, the human rights record of every country will for the first time be subject to regular peer review. Also significant was the adoption by the General Assembly of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which establishes a procedure by which individuals can seek justice for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and the entry into force of a new legal instrument to protect the rights of people with disabilities, namely the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. With the completion of the move from New York to Geneva of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), OHCHR at last assumed full responsibility for servicing all UN treaty bodies.
The year also saw a change in leadership at OHCHR, with former International Criminal Court judge Navanethem Pillay taking over from Louise Arbour as High Commissioner. An internal restructuring led to adjustments in the Office's senior management structure and the creation of several new senior-level posts. There was an emphasis on consolidating recent growth, particularly in the field where half of all OHCHR staff are now based, and reinforcing the Office's capacity to fulfill its mandated responsibilities, especially in relation to the Human Rights Council, the UPR, treaty bodies and special procedures.
Finally, in a year of anniversaries, 2008 marked 60 years since the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The adoption of this Convention signified a first, concerted effort by the world community to consign to history the horrors of the Holocaust, and 15 years since the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, which led to the creation of the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights and subsequently the establishment of the Office in its present form. Finally, on Human Rights Day, 10 December, OHCHR led the world in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a variety of events designed to raise awareness about human rights and the responsibility of States and others to uphold them.
These and other developments are described in detail in this review of OHCHR's work in 2008. The report documents the many activities undertaken during the year, presents an assessment of results achieved, and identifies some of the challenges encountered. It is a comprehensive report card on implementation of the Office's programme of work, set out most recently in the High Commissioner's Strategic Management Plan (SMP) for the 2008-2009 biennium. It also contains detailed information on funding sources and expenditure, including financial
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