4. Charter bodies 4.1 The Commission on Human Rights The agenda of the CHR is mainly thematic with the exception of one item that addresses: ‘the violation of human rights [...] in any part of the world’, under which the situation in any country can be raised. One agenda item is devoted to racism and another to indigenous issues. Minority issues fall under the item on ‘specific groups and individuals’. However, minorities can raise issues of concern under other agenda items concerning violations that affect them. For example, a minority NGO could, depending on the specific facts of its situation, choose to raise housing rights affecting its community under many suitable agenda items, including: countryspecific violations; economic, social and cultural rights; gender; racial discrimination; specific groups and individuals (minority issues); and the right to development. NGOs should be aware that under thematic agenda items, you may not make interventions solely concerning a specific country. Countries can be mentioned as examples but the statement should be based on the theme. NGOs can submit written statements prior to the CHR. These will be issued as UN documents and circulated, under the relevant agenda item, to all participants. The maximum length of statements depends on the type of ECOSOC status held by the NGO. Statements can be submitted in any of the six UN languages and will be circulated in the language in which they are received; therefore, NGOs must translate the statements themselves if they wish their statements to be available in different languages. The advantage of submitting written statements is that your information is circulated to every participant, is available as an official UN document (this could be useful in enhancing the credibility of your NGO domestically) and is also available on the UN website. However, the value of written statements is limited; the CHR produces thousands of pages of documents and participants do not have time to read them all. NGOs can make one oral intervention per item on the agenda, up to a maximum of six interventions during one CHR session. The length of time NGOs can speak is determined by the member states of the CHR and is subject to change during the session. Joint statements made by NGOs are encouraged and speaking time is increased for these joint interventions. A joint statement counts as onethird of a single intervention within the six-intervention limit. You can make an oral intervention and submit a written statement on the same subject; however, these statements must be different – you cannot simply read out a written statement. Interventions must be made in one of the UN languages. The most effective interventions are clear and logical, and avoid overly emotional or politically charged language. You should ensure that your intervention is clearly related to the theme of the agenda item throughout and you should finish with constructive recommendations for action that you would like taken by the CHR, other UN bodies, governments or the international community. For more information, see Annex 6.4. The size and status of the CHR means that raising issues there can get your concerns heard by a wide audience. However, the CHR is a highly political body, controlled by governments and this means that it has serious limitations. Under each agenda item, governments that are members of the CHR speak first, followed by observers, followed by NGOs. Speaking time for NGOs is MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS 27 The CHR is the highest-ranking UN forum dedicated to human rights within the hierarchy of UN political organs (see section 1 for the UN structure). The CHR consists of 53 member states, elected by the ECOSOC; diplomats represent these states. States that are not members of the CHR can send representatives to the meetings as observers, they can address meetings but do not have the right to vote. This is also the case for NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC (see section 1 and Annex 6.2 for more details), specialized agencies, other UN bodies and other international organizations. The Commission meets at the Palais des Nations in Geneva for six weeks every year. It may also be convened for emergency sessions. This happened with regard to the situations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Most of the meetings are public and are also open to the press. There are different ways for NGOs with ECOSOC accreditation to participate in the CHR and you should choose the means that fits best with your objectives. This could be making an oral intervention in the main session, submitting a written statement, initiating dialogue with your government, lobbying government representatives to influence the outcome of a CHR resolution, networking with other NGOs or a combination of these activities. Interventions