Report of 20th ICC Meeting
APF members and the APF Secretariat were represented at the meeting, which was held in Geneva from 14-18 April.
The 20th Session of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) was held in Geneva from 14-18 April 2008. APF members and the APF Secretariat were represented at the meeting.
The primary focus of the session was to engage NHRIs in a dialogue on strengthening the ICC through the development of a new legal and governance framework that would enhance its status and ability to engage more effectively within the UN Human Rights Council and its mechanisms.
The meeting was chaired by Ms Jennifer Lynch, ICC Chairperson and she was supported in this role by the ICC secretariat, the National Institutions Unit, OHCHR.
A key outcome of the meeting was the decision to incorporate the ICC as an association under Swiss Law. To assist this process, a Working Group on Governance was established to begin drafting new by-laws to be ready for adoption at the upcoming International Conference of the ICC to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2008.
Other key outcomes include the adoption of a governance model, functions and a mission statement for the ICC. The Decision Paper on the ‘Review of the ICC Accreditation Procedures for NHRIs’ was also adopted.
Other events held during the 20th session included two parallel meetings on ‘NHRIs and Business’ and’ NHRIs and Poverty’, as well as a workshop on the role of NHRIs in the Universal Periodic Review which was held in collaboration with Rights and Democracy.
On 14 April the APF held a meeting and discussed a range of issues. In addition, the APF secretariat met with a range of stakeholders including the Association for the Prevention of Torture, the International Service for Human Rights and the National Institutions Unit, OHCHR to discuss APF-related activities.
The APF will publish the report from the ICC meeting once it becomes available.
