The Thirteenth Session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group will take place in Geneva from 21 May until 4 June 2012. This session marks the beginning of the second cycle of review for UN Member States.
The UPR is a process in which every Member State of the United Nations is reviewed by other States concerning human rights issues. Every Member State of the United Nations participated in the first cycle which began in 2008 and finished in 2011.
The second cycle will address implementation of recommendations from the first cycle as well as developments in the situation of human rights in each State. The fourteen States now under review were last reviewed in 2008.
During the UPR Working Group Session the State under review makes a presentation and then the other States make recommendations to it. The State under review then will adopt or reject the recommendations either in the adoption of the report of the Working Group which occurs later during the Session or during the adoption of the outcome in the Human Rights Council. NGOs are not able to take the floor during the Working Group Session, so APT participates in the process by providing background information to States and by urging them to make recommendations related to the prevention of torture and the ratification and implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol.
APT will be particularly following the reviews of Bahrain, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Brazil, the Philippines, Algeria and South Africa (listed in order of review).
The UPR Working Group Sessions are webcast by the United Nations: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/
More information on the upcoming session can be found on the UPR website.