The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers (CMW) is scheduled to hold its 42nd session from May 28 to June 12 in Geneva, Switzerland. During the 42nd session, the Committee will consider the fourth periodic report of Ecuador, the second periodic report of Ghana, and the initial report of The Gambia. During this same session, the Committee will adopt a list of issues for Lesotho, as well as lists of issues prior to reporting for Guatemala and Guyana. Finally, the Committee will consider a follow-up report from Burkina Faso. The programme of work for the session provides specific dates and times for these activities. The information note for civil society organizations describes the various opportunities for civil society organizations to engage with the Committee during the session. Those wishing to attend in person must register individually online through the Indico system. All public meetings will also be webcast on UN Web TV.

The Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will hold its 52nd session from May 4 to 15 to conduct the fourth cycle reviews for Namibia, Niger, Mozambique, Estonia, Paraguay, Belgium, Denmark, Palau, Somalia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Latvia, Sierra Leone, and Singapore. The Human Rights Council holds three two-week UPR Sessions per year. Fourteen countries are reviewed per each session, which amounts to a total of 42 countries per year. The review of each of the fourteen States is facilitated by groups of three peer States called “troikas,” which are selected prior to the beginning of the UPR session. The documentation for each State’s review and information on how to obtain accreditation to attend in person are available on the UPR section of the Human Rights Council’s website.

Four of the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures and one of its investigative bodies have country visits scheduled for May. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides a list of country visits that are forthcoming, including those scheduled beyond the month of May.

• The UN’s International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement (EMLER) is scheduled to visit Colombia from May 4 to 13.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development is scheduled to visit Kazakhstan from May 5 to 15.
• The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent is scheduled to visit Mexico from May 11 to 20.
• The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI) is scheduled to visit Mongolia from May 18 to 29.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers is scheduled to visit Poland from May 18 to 29.

Please note that some of the UN special procedures have recently had to postpone country visits due to the ongoing liquidity crisis at the UN.

Two of the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures will be holding sessions in May:

• The 139^th session of the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) is scheduled to take  place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from May 4 to 8.
• The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights is scheduled to hold its 43rd session in Geneva, Switzerland from May 11 to 15.

The Human Rights Committee has issued a call for comments on its draft General Comment No. 38 on article 22 (right to freedom of association) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Deadline June 30.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) invites inputs to inform its work on elaborating a draft general comment on the Application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Situations of Armed Conflicts. Deadline May 15.

In preparation for its 118th session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is accepting written submissions to inform its consideration of follow-up reports from Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Kenya, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, and United Kingdom. In addition, the Committee is accepting electronic submissions relating to Early Warning and Urgent Actions (EWUAP). Please use the OHCHR Submission Online System. Deadline May 11.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) is currently working on a draft general recommendation on gender stereotypes, and has issued a call for all interested parties to submit written comments through the CEDAW online submission system. Deadline May 6.

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) has issued a call for input to inform its work on creating draft Guidelines on the Disappearance of Persons in the Context of Migration. Deadline May 13.

• The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has issued a call for input to prepare for her upcoming visit to Nigeria in June 2026. Deadline May 1.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has issued a call for input to prepare for her upcoming visit to Poland in May 2026. The deadline for submissions has been extended to May 4.
• The UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI) has issued a call for input to inform an upcoming report on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in humanitarian contexts to be presented at the 81st session of the General Assembly. Deadline May 4.
• The UN Independent Expert on the rights of persons with albinism has issued a call for input to inform a thematic report to the 81^st session of the UN General Assembly on the psychosocial impact of colour-based discrimination as it relates to the enjoyment of the rights to life, work, education, and public participation, with a particular focus on their implication on the mental health of persons with albinism. Deadline May 17.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus has issued a call for input to inform his report for the 81st session of the General Assembly about the situation of human rights in Belarus in the area of women’s rights and gender equality. Deadline May 18.
• The UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights has issued a call for input to inform a report in which she will propose guidance on how to assess efforts to implement cultural rights. Deadline May 22.
• The UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity has issued a call for input to inform a report on women and international solidarity that will be presented to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Deadline May 31.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has issued a call for input to inform an upcoming thematic report on the role of justice systems in addressing the climate crisis, to be presented at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Deadline June 2.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons has issued a call for input to inform a thematic report examining how reconstruction affects communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs) after conflict or mass-devastation. Deadline June 15.

• The UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) will hold its 19th session in Geneva, Switzerland in July 2026. The deadline for requesting side events is May 30. Language interpretation services can be requested from June 1 to 10.
• The UN Fact-Finding Mission on the situation in North and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.-OFFMK) has issued a call for submissions of information related to all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in the context of the latest and ongoing escalation of hostilities in January 2025 in the provinces of North and South Kivu. No deadline specified.
• The UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has issued a press release calling for all those who witnessed or have direct information about an airstrike on a boarding school complex in Thayat Tabin village, Kyauktaw Township in Rakhine State, on September 12, 2025 to please share their evidence. The press release also contains instructions on how to share information with the Mechanism. No deadline specified.
• The UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has issued a call for information calling for anyone who witnessed or has direct knowledge of the airstrike on Mrauk U General Hospital in Rakhine State on December 10, 2025 to please share their knowledge of the incident. The call for information contains instructions on how to share information with the Mechanism. No deadline specified.
• The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (COI-OPT/Israel) has issued a broad call for submissions of information concerning acts of killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm committed by any State or non-State actor since October 7, 2023. No deadline is specified, but this information will be used for a report that will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026 and to the UN General Assembly during its 81st Session in October 2026.

• The UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee has issued a call for input on human rights obligations of States in the context of preventing and combating corruption. Deadline May 4.
• The UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee has issued a call for input on the implications of plastic pollution for the full enjoyment of human rights. Deadline May 15.