Geneva

The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is an inter-governmental body which is responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world.

HRC is made up of 47 Member States, who are elected by secret voting in the UN General Assembly in New York. HRC was founded by the resolution of the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006. HRC holds three regular sessions a year, in duration of 10 weeks (4+3+3). If human rights violations in some states require it, HRC can hold in addition to regular sessions a special session.

Human Rights council work is supported by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  (OHCHR), who observes human rights violations in the world and prepares related reports. OHCHR has branch offices in different countries to assist the establishment of human rights protection structures on site. OHCHR also supports the work of human rights experts. Volker Türk  has been human rights High Commissioner since October 2022. The High Commissioner is accountable to the Secretary-General and Human Rights Council. Estonia also supports OHCHR financially.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was founded in 2006 and the objective of the process is to review the fulfillment of human rights standards and obligations in UN Member States.

Information about Estonia UPR is available in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website.