Oral

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed. Last September, after a year-long, nation-wide consultation process, involving hundreds of non-governmental organizations and thousands of constituents around the country, the U.S. government submitted a comprehensive report on human rights in the U.S. to the UN Human Rights Council. The Council reviewed the U.S. in November, and on March 18, the Administration responded to the recommendations made at that review on issues ranging from homelessness and reproductive health to racial profiling and immigration. In this session representatives from the US government and v=civil society will discuss the UPR process as it relates to the US review as well as recommendations and steps moving forward for action on the recommendations that came about as a result of the review.

Session Objectives: Describe the UPR process Identify the roles of the US governmetn and US civil society in the UPR process Analyze lesons learned from the process

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)