Musings of a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights

Abstract

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (CHR) appointed its first special rapporteur in 1979 to report on abuses in Chile under the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. This initiative estab lished an important precedent for the institution of special procedures to examine serious human rights violations in any country. In 1982, for the first time, a thematic rapporteurship was set up to examine summary and arbitrary executions. Consequently, the fifty-three member states of the CHR have taken steps toward a worldwide system for monitoring human rights. In mid-2002, there were forty-one special rapporteurs: thirty on thematic issues, eleven working in specific countries.1 My first appointment as special rapporteur for Burundi lasted from 1995 to 1999. In December 2000, I began a second mandate for Myanmar, a position I continue to hold.2 The selection process for special rapporteurs is somewhat in scrutable, perhaps even byzantine. It is entirely controlled by the chair of the CHR. Through direct consultations with the members of the bureau,3 the chair appoints specialists. The overall quality of appointees thus depends largely on the courage, insight, and negotiating skills of the chair. It does not suffice to want to be a special rapporteur, much less to nominate oneself, nor does having a particular interest in a given country or theme carry much weight. Vacancies arise when the CHR, which authorizes and renews mandates, proposes new missions or when someone resigns. Country-specific and thematic mandates are reviewed annually. In April 1999, the commission instituted a term limit of six years for ex perts. It is extremely unlikely to assign special rapporteurs who do not have at least the acquiescence of their own governments, although some candidates may not enjoy enthusiastic support from their home coun tries. Many civil society organizations, at higher decibel levels since the CHR's fifty-eighth session in spring 2002, have criticized the growing