1. UPR Advocacy Auckland, 23rd October 2018

2. CSO engagement

3. Why should CSOs engage? The mechanism works
Governments and CSOs are brought together
CSOs are strengthened by the process
It is a great opportunity to increase awareness and knowledge of human rights issues in a country

4. Advocacy entry points

5. Advocacy entry points State under Review National Consultations
After UPR review before final adoption of recs
Implementation
Recommending State
In-country via embassies
In Geneva via Permanent Missions
Pre-sessions

6. Civil Society at the UPR

7. Written submission Word limit: 2,815 (individual); 5,630 (joint)
Main issues of concern, expressed clearly and concisely
Information on the recommendations and follow up on previous cycles
Refer to human rights instruments
Credibility: Avoid second-hand information
Remember submissions are public (safety and protection of HRDs)

8. SMART recommendations

9. Advocacy: Identifying States
What States made recommendations on your advocacy issue to the SuR during the 2nd cycle?
What States are generally interested in the issue?
UPR Info database: access recommendations & voluntary pledges by State, theme, cycle etc.

10. UPR Advocacy Factsheets

11. UPR Advocacy Factsheets
Originated in Mongolia (CSO coalition), developed into good practice
1 pager, highlighting main points from the submission
At-a-glance advocacy tool
Requested by diplomats (Pre-sessions), welcomed by Government (Thailand)
Demonstrates added value of CSOs
Mongolia, Thailand, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Uganda, Myanmar, Venezuela, Japan, Colombia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, etc.

12. UPR Advocacy Factsheets
Structure: good practices from developing factsheets
Name and logo of the coalition on each factsheet
Theme: what theme does the factsheet address?
Summary of key issues from previous reviews: recommendations and implementation status
National framework: relevant national legislation, statistics, policies and initiative
Challenges/Impact: note key rights challenges and their impact, justifying the needs for CSO suggested recommendations
Recommendations: extract the SMART recommendations for the corresponding theme from the submission
Sources: reference all claims made in the factsheet.

13. UPR Advocacy Factsheets
Drafting: good practices from developing factsheets
Layout: make the factsheet appealing. In-house expertise or outsourcing
Folder: collect all factsheet in a folder to facilitate strategic advocacy
Colour coding: give each factsheet a specific colour
Thematic groups: summarises its contribution to a factsheet, Group rapporteurs bear the responsibility to finalise the folder
Advocacy: good practices from developing factsheets
Strategic advocacy: research which Recommending states are interested in what themes
Electronic copies: share in advance with targeted diplomats (Wellington, Geneva, capital)
Share with the Government and UN agencies at home
Invaluable instruments to complement oral interventions at Pre-sessions

14. UPR Advocacy Factsheets Sri Lanka, 2017
Name and logo of the coalition/organisation
Theme
Summary of key issues from previous UPR cycles

15. UPR Advocacy Factsheets Sri Lanka, 2017
4. Description of the national framework

16. UPR Advocacy Factsheets Sri Lanka, 2017
5. Key challenges and their impact

17. UPR Advocacy Factsheets Sri Lanka, 2017
5. Key challenges and their impact

18. UPR Advocacy Factsheets Sri Lanka, 2017
6. Recommendations

21. Identifying UPR trends
UPR Info’s statistics tool can help identify:
What States make the most/fewest recommendations;
Increase/decrease in recommendations from one cycle to the next;
How SMART the recommendations are;
The most frequently/rarely addressed human rights issues;
The acceptance level per issue

22. Advocacy: Pre-sessions

23. Engage in In-country Pre-sessions
In-Country Pre-sessions are interactive meetings between national CSOs and
embassies in the SuR. They ensure broad consultations among national UPR stakeholders
and reinforce sustainable links between national CSOs and embassies,
prior to the review in Geneva.

24. Impact of the Pre-sessions
Strengthening women’s rights in Nepal
- Several recs made to reform the narrow definition of rape
Recognition for the rights of indigenous people in Rwanda
- The no. of recs tripled in the 2nd cycle
Decriminalisation of defamation in Mongolia
- Three recs made, all three States present at the Pre-session
Promotion of Gender diversity in Samoa
Creation of a new UPR coalition in Niger
First-time international advocacy and dialogue in Myanmar

25. Advocacy during the review
Broadcast the webcast in the country
Issue a press release/public statement
Live monitor on social media
Twitter campaign: Indian CSO example #UPRIndia3
Think of short and catchy hashtag

26. Advocacy after the Review
Before the adoption
Meet with the State under Review to persuade them to accept key recommendations for your organisation
Noted recommendations: raise awareness about it -> Question the Government about the decision and try to make them change their position
At the adoption
During the Human Rights Council (for NGOs with ECOSOC Status)
Make an oral statement
Video statement
Submit a written statement

27. Follow-up Coordination Coalitions, strategy, matrices Collaboration
Government, NHRI, RS, int’l organisations, Media!
Communication
Popularising UPR, mid-term reports
Publish the result of the review
Translate recommendations
Make the recommendations understandable
Use the recommendations in other mechanisms: treaty bodies, special procedures, regional mechanisms

28. UPR Achievements Fiji abolished the death penalty in its military code
Thailand and Republic of Korea criminalised marital rape
Seychelles & Nauru decriminalised same-sex activity
Burkina Faso established the National Council to Combat Female Circumcision, and introduced the issue in school curricula
Morocco established a national preventive mechanism against torture
Switzerland is in the process of establishing a national human rights institution
Paraguay established an online platform («SIMORE») to monitor human rights recommendations, including UPR
One of its main results is the digital platform SIMORE (System for Monitoring Recommendations). SIMORE is an institutional mechanism that allows the executive, legislature and judiciary to work together with independent institutions to follow up on recommendations from the Organisation of American States and the UN that fall within the remit of their respective mandates.

29. Media’s role

30. Media
Role of journalists in the UPR
Engaging the independent media in the UPR mechanism provides another level of scrutiny of State actions.
Best practice:

31. Media Role of journalists in the UPR
Before the review: raise awareness about what the mechanism is
Popularise the UPR in mainstream media and social media by publishing articles on what the UPR is, New Zealand’s performance and how it affects the human rights of ordinary citizens.
Link their day-to-day reporting to relevant UPR recommendations
During the review:
Follow the review by live webcast: update social media so readers can follow the discussion; create a hashtag to link all information.
Organise live-screenings, invite guests for real-time discussions.
Tip: Follow UPR Info’s Twitter account to receive updates on the UPR, live from the United

32. Media Role of journalists in the UPR After the review:
Collaborate with national NGOs to organise a press conference discussing the outcome of the UPR
Reach out to the relevant government ministries to ask for an interview: question them about what recommendations they will accept
Work with civil society to translate recommendations to local languages
Make the recommendations understandable for non-specialist audiences
Publish the results of the review (in mainstream and online media): what type of recommendations did New Zealand receive? Explain to the readers the next steps
After the adoption:
Publish the results of the adoption of the report: i.e. what recommendations did New Zealand accept and what recommendations did it note
Explain the next steps of the process to the public: implementation of recommendations and mid-term reports
Reach out to government representatives for comments

33. Useful links UPR Info: Database: Factsheets: UPR analyses:
Database:
Factsheets:
UPR analyses:
Lobbying material: