Human Rights Bodies’ Hearings & Sessions:
May 2025

April 27, 2025
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In May 2025, various regional and universal human rights bodies will hold sessions or hearings to continue their oversight and adjudication of human rights issues. For more information on each of the bodies mentioned, visit the Human Rights Oversight section of the CGLJ Online Resource Hub.

At the United Nations, various bodies will be in session, including bodies of the Human Rights Council (the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review, special procedures Working Groups on enforced disappearances and transnational corporations, and the Ad Hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary standards); treaty bodies on racial discrimination, the rights of children, and torture; an investigative body dedicated to advancing racial justice and equality in law enforcement; and the Economic and Social Council’s advisory body on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The OHCHR and special procedures have issued many calls for input  with deadlines in May 2024, including for submissions related to violence against women and girls (May 2),  the independence of judges and lawyers in the context of artificial intelligence and judicial systems (May 2),the impact of unilateral coercive measures on humanitarian action (May 2), access to justice and protection for women and girls (May 2),the role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rights (May 5), artificial intelligence and creativity (May 5), the human rights impacts of administrative measures to counter terrorism and violent extremism (May 9), global trends and developments on torture (May 9), human rights in Somalia (May 15), the implementation of the programme of activities under the Second International Decade for People of African Descent (May 15), democracy and climate change (May 16), an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (May 18), land and the right to adequate housing (May 25), a study by the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development on “Climate Finance: Vulnerability and Responsibility” (May 30), the possible scope and structure of a comprehensive Guidance on accountability and access to remedy for human rights violations caused by unilateral sanctions (May 30), and human rights in Belarus in the area of labor and employment (May 31).

Several mandate holders are seeking inputs for upcoming visits, including visits to Belgium (racial justice and equality in law enforcement, May 9); Finland  (human rights and international solidarity, May 10); Iceland (international democratic order, May 16); Bosnia and Herzegovina (the situation of human rights defenders, May 18); Iraq (minority issues, May 23); Zimbabwe (discrimination against women and girls, May 28); and Colombia (rights of persons with disabilities, May 31).

At the regional level, the following bodies will be in session: the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the European Committee of Social Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights will hold a hearing in a case involving a Turkish national’s conviction for membership in a terrorist organization.

United Nations

General Assembly: Human Rights Council

Universal Periodic Review

The Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is holding its 49th Session from April 28 to May 9 in Geneva, Switzerland. The States under review at the 49th Session are Armenia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Spain, Sweden, and Türkiye. More information is available on the tentative timetable.

During the session, a group of three Human Rights Council Member States (or troika) will facilitate the review of each country. Representatives from the country being reviewed will give an oral presentation, which is followed by an interactive dialogue with UN Member States. The States make recommendations and comments, which the troika summarizes in a report, and the reviewed country can accept or reject the recommendations and comments. A final outcome report will then be adopted, and the country will report on its implementation of the recommendations during the following UPR cycle.

The UPR is a peer review mechanism designed to assess and advance human rights in all UN Member States. The UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council holds three sessions per year. For more information about past, present, and future UPR sessions, including timetables and lists of troikas, visit the UPR Sessions webpage.

Special Procedures

Various UN special procedures have activities scheduled in May. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides lists of country visits that are underway and country visits that are forthcoming.

Other Working Groups, Subsidiary Expert Mechanisms, Forums

The Ad Hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) hosts its 15th session from April 9 to May 30 in Geneva, Switzerland. (The first segment of the session takes place from April 9 to 11; the second from May 26 to 30.) Agenda items include a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the ICERD and continued work on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the ICERD criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, prepared pursuant to paragraph 11 of Human Rights Council resolution 54/27. Additional information is available in the draft programme of work.

Treaty Bodies

General

Various UN treaty bodies will convene in May. The full schedule can be viewed on the OHCHR Human Rights Mechanisms Calendar. Treaty bodies’ public activities, including constructive dialogues held as part of State party reviews, are webcast on UN Web TV.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will host its 115th session from April 22 to May 9, in Geneva, Switzerland. During the session the Committee will review Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, the Republic of Korea, and Ukraine; hold an informal meeting with States parties; and hold a public meeting for a discussion on reparations for the injustices from the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans, their treatment as chattel, and the ongoing harms to and crimes against People of African Descent. More information is available in the provisional agenda and proposed programme of work.

Committee on the Rights of the Child

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) will hold its 99th session from May 12 to 30, in Geneva, Switzerland. CRC will hold constructive dialogues with Brazil, Indonesia, Iraq, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, and Romania. It will also discuss the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography of Brazil and Pakistan. More information is available in the tentative programme of work.

The 101st session of the Pre-Sessional Working Group (PSWG) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, tentatively scheduled for May 26 to 30, has been cancelled. According to the UN Treaty Body Database, dates for this session are not confirmed. According to Child Rights Connect, this session has been cancelled.

Committee against Torture

The Committee against Torture (CAT) hosts its 82nd Session from April 7 to May 2, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Committee will consider reports from Armenia, France, Mauritius, Monaco, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. In addition, the Committee will adopt lists of issues for Pakistan and Tajikistan and lists of issues prior to reporting for Antigua and Barbuda, Botswana, Iceland, Iraq, Kenya, Montenegro, State of Palestine and Uruguay. More information is available in the provisional agenda and session documentation.

UN Investigative Bodies

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement (EMLER), an investigative body established by the Human Rights Council in 2021, will host its 4th Annual Session from May 5 to 9, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Expert Mechanism will hold public in-person consultations on May 7 and 8 on the systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in the criminal justice system. More information is available on the schedule of public consultations. Key observations and recommendations from these consultations will inform the Expert Mechanism’s 4th annual report to be presented to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council. The public consultations will be viewable via UN Web TV.

Economic and Social Council

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII), a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, holds its 24th session from April 21 to May 2, in New York. The agenda includes a discussion on the theme of “Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within UN Member States and the UN system”; a discussion on the six mandated areas of the Permanent Forum (economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights); several dialogues, including those with Indigenous Peoples, Member States, UN organizations, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous Peoples; and a discussion on the future work the Permanent Forum. More information is available in the provisional agenda and the programme of work, both of which are available on the session page, and the proposed organization of work. The session will be viewable on UN Web TV.

Regional Bodies

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) is holding its 83rd ordinary session from May 2 to 22, in person in Gambia. The public portions of the session will include discussion of the human rights situation in Africa; the presentation of activity reports of special mechanisms; the consideration of the State reports of Ethiopia and Zimbabwe; and several panels, including those on  human rights defenders, the human rights situation in Sudan, extrajudicial killings in the fight against terrorism in Africa, the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women, the need for a torture-free trade treaty,  lessons from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and justice for Africans and People of African Descent through reparations. Additional information is available in the draft public session agenda and other public session documents. The session will be viewable on the Commission’s YouTube channel.

European Committee of Social Rights

The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) will hold its 348st Session from May 12 to 16. The agenda and synopsis will be posted on the Committee’s webpage after the conclusion of the session.

European Court of Human Rights

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hold a hearing in the case of Yasak v. Türkiye on May 7 in Strasbourg, France.  The case involves the conviction of a Turkish national for membership in a terrorist organization. More information is available in the Court’s press release about the acceptance of the applicant’s request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber. All public hearings of the Court are broadcast on the Court’s website.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) is holding its 176th Regular Session from May 19 to 30. Additional information will be available closer to the start of the session. The Court’s sessions are typically posted on the Court’s Vimeo page.