A week ago a successful national Sanma UPR consultation was held in Santo with members of the Professional Technical Assistance Committee (PTAC), giving government officials in our northern city the opportunity to comment on the recommendations presented to the Vanuatu government during the third UPR cycle in 2019.
As well as the participation of our partners, the NGOs, CSOs, chiefs and faith-based groups, youth and women to ensure that the information collected during this consultation is properly recorded to demonstrate the government's commitment to this process and thus the implementation of the six core human rights conventions that Vanuatu has ratified.
Vanuatu has been part of the UPR process since 2009, when it submitted its first Universal Periodic Report (UPR). Since then, the number of recommendations for further implementation of the HR conventions to which the country is a party has increased from 48 to 135 in 2019, the third reporting cycle.
Vanuatu has been mandated to submit another report in February 2024 for the fourth cycle
The Ministry of Justice, through the National Human Rights Desk, will conduct the same consultations in Port Vila or Shefa Province from October 17 to October 20, 2023. We hope that all stakeholders will be able to attend this workshop next week at the Grand Hotel.
A periodic review is a process that takes place every 4-5 years and focuses on the human rights records of 193 United Nations member states.
It allows all states to declare the actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries.
The alternative stakeholder report is a written report submitted by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in their country.
This group of people including Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have met in Port Vila to proper document an independent report before the given deadline.
The objective of the writing workshop for the 4th Universal Periodic Review Report is to raise awareness among civil society organizations in Vanuatu on monitoring and promoting human rights, equality and social inclusion through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
Civil society organizations reports provide a balance to the national report and provide a comprehensive picture of the human rights situation.
The deadline for Vanuatu’s Civil Society Organizations to submit its alternative stakeholder report under the UPR has been confirmed for October 11, 2023