VICTORIA SCHOOL

The United Nations Human Rights Council, or UNHRC, was established on the 15th of March, 2006.  The UNHRC has the goal of promoting and protection of human rights around the world.  This council has addressed many issues regarding human rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.  The General Assembly takes into account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard before allowing countries to be a member.

 

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the UN Office at Geneva. The Council’s 47 member states are responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world.

Government surveillance on their people has always been a concern of the UNHRC. However, due to the recent exposure claiming that NSA has been spying on USA citizens through the listening of people's conversation on the phones, this issue has escalated to new heights. There are split opinions on this issue in the council. Some countries believe that this is a necessary measure taken by the government to ensure security within nations and to prevent terrorist activities. However, some nations believe that this is an infringement of human rights and their privacy. This council hopes that members can come together to create a suitable solution to this issue which can be implemented internationally and achieve the two desired outcome.