Why UPR matters for accountability?
"UPR matters for national accountability because UPR is the only UN mechanism that reviews every country on a regular cycle against human rights obligations made by the UN member States. All the commitments that are in the Universal Periodic Review are public, which means that the public have access to those recommendations. So that makes it easier to hold the governments accountable for the commitments that are there," said Dr Virginia Kamowa of CeHDI.
"UPR creates a clear accountability pathway because we know the commitments made along with the expectation of action on those commitments. Every four years, progress is reviewed. It also links to international obligations that are made by countries that are signatory to different human rights policies."
UPR links global obligations to national policy, budgets and service delivery
"UPR links human rights obligations at the global level to national policy and budgets, and to service delivery. UPR is timebound as these obligations are timebound in terms of implementation. Repeated UPR review cycles expose what progress has taken place on these recommendations. Governments can accept or reject the recommendations made, but it also gives a political clarity in terms of which recommendations governments are going to work upon - and all information is in public domain," said Dr Kamowa.
"It is the governments who are accountable for implementation of these recommendations that are made (including budgeting for implementation). Public institutions must deliver services on the recommendations that are made and civil society and communities play a very critical role because they provide the monitoring, scrutiny and the follow-up that is required during the implementation period," asserted CeHDI's Dr Kamowa.
"Public oversight is essential in translating the UPR commitments into change because if there is no public oversight those commitments might just be stagnant without being followed up."
UPR transforms advocacy from moral appeals to evidence-based accountability
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