The Council continued the review of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Sudan. The discussion was dominated by the traditional divide between States that expressed concern at the human rights situation in the Sudan, and those supporting the Government of the Sudan in its approach. The former group urged the Government to fulfil its responsibility to promote and protect the human rights of its people and to cooperate with the international community to that effect. The second group was more protective of the Government of the Sudan, and highlighted the good cooperation between the Special Rapporteur and the Government. They stressed that the international community should better support the Government, so that it can better promote and protect human rights. However, since a deal had apparently already been struck in informal consultations on the previous day, the discussion seemed to lack purpose. It was already clear to most participants that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan would be renewed for one year and enlarged in scope, while in turn the mandate of the Experts Group would be terminated. The effect that this would have on the workload of the Special Rapporteur was not elaborated upon. The Council then moved to decision making. It adopted several resolutions that extended the mandates of the following special procedures:
· Special Rapporteur on adequate housing · Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health · Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons · Special Rapporteur on protection of human rights while countering terrorism · Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Sudan.
The Council also decided to create a new expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples. As expected, the mandate of the Experts Group on Darfur was terminated.
Published in: Council Monitor, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), 14 December 2007.