Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Functions and organization

Mandate

Purpose

1. Promote universal enjoyment of all human rights by giving practical effect to the will and resolve of the world community as expressed by the United Nations
2. Play the leading role on human rights issues and emphasize the importance of human rights at the international and national levels
3. Promote international cooperation for human rights
4. Stimulate and coordinate action for human rights throughout the United Nations system
5. Promote universal ratification and implementation of international standards
6. Assist in the development of new norms
7. Support human rights organs and treaty monitoring bodies
8. Respond to serious violations of human rights
9. Undertake preventive human rights action
10. Promote the establishment of national human rights infrastructures
11. Undertake human rights field activities and operations
12. Provide education, information advisory services and technical assistance in the field of human rights

    Organization

High Commissioner for Human Rights (Under-Secretary-General)

Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights (Assistant Secretary-General)

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (UN Headquarters New York)

Staff Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

1. assist the High Commissioner in the overall direction and supervision of the activities of the human rights program
2. assist the High Commissioner in the formulation, communication, implementation and evaluation of policies, practices and activities for the promotion and protection of human rights
3. assist the High Commissioner in maintaining relations with Governments, other United Nations agencies and entities, international organizations, regional and national institutions, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and academia
4. assist the High Commissioner in maintaining liaison on policy matters with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and other relevant offices at Headquarters, as well as with the spokespersons of the Secretary-General at New York City and Geneva and the media
5. carry out fund-raising functions and special projects as assigned by the High Commissioner
6. assist the High Commissioner in developing and maintaining a framework for the management and planning of the activities of the human rights program and facilitating the development of the overall work program, and in preparing annual management reports on activities and achievements
7. represent the High Commissioner at meetings and making statements on his or her behalf

   Administrative Section

1. advise the High Commissioner on the budgetary, financial and personnel matters relating to the human rights program
2. assist the High Commissioner and appropriate staff in the discharge of their financial, personnel and general administrative responsibilities and administering the associate expert and internship programs

   New York Office

1. represent the High Commissioner at Headquarters, at meetings of policy-making bodies, with permanent missions of Member States, at interdepartmental and inter-agency meetings, with non-governmental organizations and professional groups, at academic conferences and with the media
2. provide policy advice and recommendations on substantive matters to the High Commissioner
3. supply information and advice on human rights to the Executive Office of the Secretary-General
4. provide substantive support on human rights issues to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other policy-making bodies established in New York City
5. provide materials and information to the permanent missions, United Nations departments, agencies and programs, non-governmental organizations, the media and others regarding the human rights program
6. provide support to the High Commissioner and other officials, and to Special Rapporteurs and Special Representatives when on mission in New York City
7. undertake other specific assignments as decided by the High Commissioner

   Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division

1. promote and protect the right to development, in particular by:
2. # supporting intergovernmental groups of experts on the preparation of the strategy for the right to development
3. # assisting in the analysis of the voluntary reports by States to the High Commissioner on the progress and steps taken for the realization of the right to development and on obstacles encountered
4. # carrying out research projects on the right to development and preparing substantive outputs for submission to the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and treaty bodies
5. # assisting in the substantive preparation of advisory service projects and educational material on the right to development
6. # providing substantive analysis and support to the High Commissioner in his or her mandate to enhance system-wide support for the right to development
7. carry out substantive research projects on the whole range of human rights issues of interest to United Nations human rights bodies in accordance with the priorities established by the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action and resolutions of policy-making bodies
8. support the work of the mandate-holders of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council
9. provide substantive services to human rights organs engaged in standard-setting activities
10. prepare documents, reports or draft reports, summaries and synthesis and position papers in response to particular requests, as well as substantive contributions to information materials and publications
11. provide policy analysis, advice and guidance on substantive procedures
12. manage the information services of the human rights programme, including the documentation centre and library, enquiry services and the human rights databases
13. prepare studies on relevant articles of the Charter of the United Nations for the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs

    Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division

1. plan, prepare and service sessions/meetings of the Human Rights Council, the Advisory Committee and related working groups and of the committees established by human rights treaty bodies and their working groups
2. ensure that substantive support is provided in a timely manner to the human rights treaty body concerned, drawing on the appropriate resources of the human rights programme
3. prepare state party reports for review by the treaty body concerned and following up on decisions and recommendations
4. prepare or coordinate the preparation and submission of all substantive and other documents and the support from other management units to the activities of treaty bodies serviced, and following up on decisions taken at meetings of those bodies
5. plan, prepare and service sessions of board of trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and implementing relevant decisions
6. process communications submitted to treaty bodies under optional procedures and communications under the procedures established by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1503 of 27 May 1970 and ensuring follow-up

   Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division

1. develop, implement, monitor and evaluate advisory services and technical assistance projects at the request of Governments
2. Managing the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights
3. Implementing the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, including the development of information and educational materials;
4. provide substantive and administrative support to human rights fact-finding and investigatory mechanisms, such as special rapporteurs, representatives and experts and working groups mandated by the Commission on Human Rights and/or the Economic and Social Council to deal with specific country situations or phenomena of human rights violations worldwide, as well as the General Assembly's Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories
5. plan, support and evaluate human rights field presences and missions, including the formulation and development of best practice, procedural methodology and models for all human rights activities in the field
6. manage voluntary funds for human rights field presences
7. manage the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations and United Nations Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People

High Commissioners for Human Rights

Nr	Name	Country	Term	Notes
7.	Michelle Bachelet	Chile	1 September 2018 - 31 August 2022	Current High Commissioner. Elected by the General Assembly on 10 August 2018
6.	Zeid Raad Al Hussein	Jordan	1 September 2014 – 31 August 2018
5.	Navanethem Pillay	South Africa	1 September 2008 – 31 August 2014	Her mandate was extended for an additional half term by the General Assembly on 1 September 2012
4.	Louise Arbour	Canada	2004–2008	Did not seek a second term
	Bertrand Ramcharan	Guyana	2003–2004	Acting High Commissioner
3.	Sérgio Vieira de Mello	Brazil	2002–2003	Killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad on 19 August 2003
2.	Mary Robinson	Ireland	1997–2002	Term was not renewed by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
1.	José Ayala-Lasso	Ecuador	1994–1997