In 2006, the General Assembly adopted resolution 60/251 which decided that the UN Human Rights Council (an inter-state body) would undertake a universal periodic review of each State as to the fulfillment of its human rights commitments. All UN Member States will be reviewed by the UPR mechanism every four years. The review is based on three documents: one report prepared by the State concerned, and two OHCHR-prepared reports: a compilation of UN information (from reports of treaty bodies, special procedures and other relevant official United Nations documents), and a summary of stakeholders’ input (from NGOs, national human rights institutions, academic institutions and regional organizations). For the preparation of these three documents, which may include information on the human rights situation of persons belonging to minorities, UN entities can consider to: (i) advise States on preparing State reports in a consultative manner; (ii) send submissions to OHCHR, and/or draw attention to agency publications for OHCHR’s review, to be considered for the compilation of UN information reports; and (iii) disseminate information to stakeholders including NGOs for preparation of their input.

The review of a State is conducted during a three-hour interactive dialogue of the Working Group on the UPR composed of the 47 member States of the Council. After the Working Group session, the Council meets in a plenary session to consider and adopt the outcome of the UPR, which includes a report consisting of a summary of the proceedings, conclusions and/or recommendations, and the voluntary commitments of the State concerned. At the Council plenary session, when a one-hour meeting is devoted to each State under review, UN entities and stakeholders, including national human rights institutions and NGOs, have the opportunity to make interventions.

UN entities may facilitate local access to the UPR meetings (webcast by the UN) by convening targeted or inclusive public screenings. In the follow-up phase, UN entities can provide support by, inter alia, ensuring the translation (including in minority languages) and broad dissemination of UPR documents, encourage/facilitate the use of the recommendations, including on minority issues, by all relevant actors at the national level, and consider UPR documentation when preparing UN planning instruments, including CCA/UNDAFs and agencies’ specific programmes.⁶³