Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council

About special procedures

The special procedures of the Human Rights Council are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. They are non-paid and elected for 3-year mandates that can be reconducted for another three years. As of November 2023, there are 46 thematic and 14 country mandates.

With the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), special procedures:

• Undertake country visits
• Act on individual cases of reported violations and concerns of a broader nature by sending communications to States and others
• Contribute to the development of international human rights standards, and
• Engage in advocacy, raise public awareness, and provide advice for technical cooperation.

Read more about what special procedures do

How do special procedure mandate-holders make a difference?

Special procedure mandate-holders help advance human rights in ways both small and large. They contribute to:

Legislative reform

Improve access to mechanisms of redress

Policy reform

Human rights mainstreaming

Contribution to government/judicial processes

Human rights standard setting

Raising human rights awareness

Facilitating dialogue/coalition setting

Preventing/cessation of violations

How do they contribute to cross-cutting issues?

Some contemporary issues cut across a wide spectrum of human rights. As a result, many mandate-holders bring specific expertise and recommendations to topics ranging from climate change to new technologies, from migration to COVID-19 and more.

OHCHR has compiled all Special Rapporteur reports that deal with these issues.

Find the compilations on cross-cutting issues here

Submitting complaints to special procedures

Are you a victim or have knowledge of a human rights violations? Do you believe there is policy or legislation in your country that does not respect human rights? You can use the special procedures communications process to report this information.

Learn how the special procedures communications process can help you

Cooperation with the special procedures and acts of intimidation and reprisals

Special procedures can only fulfill their mandates effectively when individuals and groups engage with them without fear of intimidation or reprisal. Yet mandate-holders have noted a rise in instances of intimidation and reprisals against those who cooperated with them. The Coordination Committee established a framework of action to respond to these unacceptable practices.

Learn more about reprisals and the Special Procedure framework of action

• Shift from punitive approach on drug policies towards harm reduction - Statement by UN human rights experts, 26 June 2024
• High-level informal Presidential discussion on the link between climate change, food security and health security, and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, 20 June 2024
• Attacks against UN human rights experts must cease: Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, 16 May 2024
• Letter of the Chair of the Coordination Committee to the Consultative Group on the selection process of special procedure mandate holders, 24 April 2024
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 75. UN Experts call on world leaders to recommit to human rights, 11 December 2023
• Letter of the Chair of the Coordination Committee to the President of the Human Rights Council on attacks against mandate holders, 4 December 2023.
• Urgent Debate to discuss the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries, 11 July 2023
• Letter of the Chair of the Coordination Committee to the Consultative Group on the selection process of special procedure mandate holders, 3 July 2023
• Statement by Ms Tlaleng Mofokeng, Chair of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, at the thirty-sixth special session of the Human Rights Council on the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan, 11 May 2023
• Letter of the Chair of the Coordination Committee to the Consultative Group on the selection process of special procedure mandate holders, 25 April 2023
• Mr Victor Madrigal-Borloz, member of the Coordination Committee, presents the annual report on Special Procedures to the 52^nd session of the Human Rights Council, 23 March 2023
  Statement (WORD) | Report (Advance edited version) | Addendum
• Letter of the Chair of the Coordination Committee to the Consultative Group on the selection process of special procedure mandate holders, 16 January 2023

See all