Methodology

YourHRC.org uses independent and objective data as the basis of its summaries and analyses. The origin of that data is primarily official UN documents and information produced by other international organisations. To ensure transparency, information on the sources of all data used, together with the methodology applied and the timeframe, is presented below.

Overview of Membership

Previous Membership terms

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

Council Bureau membership

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

Voluntary contribution to OHCHR (2018)

Source: OHCHR Website, p.44.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

OHCHR presence

Source: Human Rights Appeal 2015, p. 48-49.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

NHRI Accreditation Status

Source: ICC Website.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

Voting records

Source: URG HRC Voting Portal.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Note: The yourHRC.org analysis aims to be purely factual, without value judgement as to the merit of individual resolutions, or moral or legal judgements about the nature of State voting patterns. For each member State of the Council, past and present, URG analysts looks for patterns in State voting on both country-specific resolutions (items 2, 4, 7 and 10) and thematic resolutions (both civil and political, and economic, social and cultural – including the right to development).

Engagement with human rights system

Contribution to Council’s debates and dialogues

Source: HRC Extranet.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Note: The participation of the members of the Council in group statements was calculated based on all joint statements listed on the HRC Extranet from June 2016 until June 2019 (i.e. during HRC sessions 32-41). Figures include statements not delivered due to lack of time.

The Empty Chair indicator was calculated based on the individual statements and joint statements other than political, regional or otherwise ‘fixed’ groups. A ‘YES’ shows that, during its current and last
most recent membership terms (where applicable), the corresponding State participated in less than 10% of the total number of debates, interactive dialogues, and panel discussions.

 

Special Procedures cooperation

Standing Invitation

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

 

Country Visits/visit requests

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: Data covers the period 1998-18th August 2019 (apart from for Montenegro, where the data only covers visits from June 2006, when Montenegro became a member state).

Note: The number of visits completed/undertaken includes only visits that have actually taken place, as listed on the OHCHR website (i.e. visits reported as completed or with report forthcoming). The dates for the most overdue visit are calculated according to the initial request date of the corresponding visit (regardless of subsequent reminders) or with the earliest request date published, when the initial request date is not available. Visits with incomplete information (i.e., dates and status), invitations. Visits by Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, or visits to regional institutions/organisations are included in this analysis.
 

Responsiveness to communications

Source: OHCHR – Communication report and search database.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Note: The response rate to Special Procedures communications (i.e. to letters of allegations and urgent appeals) is based on the data published in the Special Procedures Communications Database. Calculations includes communications received and responded by States during the last 5 years.

 

Treaty Body cooperation

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: Reporting and ratification scores were calculated on the 15 August 2020.

Note: Ratification and Reporting is recorded for the eight “core human rights conventions,” which include: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Treaty body reporting dates relate to the state’s current reporting cycle, as listed on the OHCHR website. In cases where there is no deadline for the current reporting cycle, the status of reporting of the previous cycle was used, where available.

Explanation of Options:

  • SUBMITTED ON TIME: The State Party Report submitted the report before the due date;
  • ON SCHEDULE: the current cycle due date is in the future. This occurs when a State’s reporting cycle changes, so the deadline for the next report is set.
  • SUBMITTED LATE: The State Party Report has been submitted for the current cycle, but was submitted late;
  • OUTSTANDING (OVERDUE): the current cycle report has not yet been submitted, and is overdue;
  • NOT PARTY: The State has not ratified the respective Treaty;
  • N/A: where data was not available.

The “most overdue” report time is for the outstanding report that is the most overdue.

OP-CAT
Ratification: Whether the country has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.
Source: OHCHR website – Country pages.
Data as at: 15 August 2020.

NMP Established: Shows if the country has notified the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture that it has designated a national preventive mechanism.
Source: OHCHR website
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/OPCAT/Pages/NationalPreventiveMechanisms.aspx
Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Sub-Committee visit: Indicates whether the country has been visited by the Sub-Committee against torture, and the years in which this occurred, when applicable.
Source: OHCHR website
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/CountryVisits.aspx?SortOrder=Alphabetical
Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Universal Periodic Review

Level of delegation

Source: The Head of a State’s delegation (for its last UPR) was determined using the “Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review.” Where the rank of the representative was not clear, the URG followed up with the relevant missions as far as possible.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Mid-term reporting

Source: OHCHR Website.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Note: The “mid-term reporting” score relates to whether the state has submitted a mid-term report for the first and/or the second cycles of UPR.

Participation in other reviews

Source: UPR Info “Statistics of UPR Recommendations”. The information reported for Australia was provided directly by the Mission of Australia to the United Nations in Geneva.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

Note: Participation in other reviews relates to the number of other 1st and 2nd cycle reviews (out of 192) during which the state concerned made its own recommendations.

Cooperation with the UN, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights

Source: Last five Secretary-General’s ‘Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives, and mechanisms in the field of human rights’ reports.

Data as at: 15 August 2020.

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Image: UN Geneva, “Result of vote appears” (UN Photo/Patrick Bertschmann),” licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.