UNITAR
29 July 2022, New York, United States - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office held a session on Human Rights during the weekly training workshops for the 2022 President of the General Assembly Fellowship for HOPE (Harnessing Opportunities for Promoting Empowerment of Youth) — UNITAR Office in New York's flagship initiative. Fellowship workshops are held every Friday at the United Nations Headquarters and feature multiple distinguished high-level speakers from various branches of the United Nations.
During the session on Human Rights, distinguished speakers from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) showcased their expertise to the HOPE Fellows: Mr. Dominique Bush (Human Rights Officer), Ms. Katherine Liao (UN Human Rights Deputy Regional Representative for Southern Africa), Mr. James Turpin (Chief Prevention and Sustaining Peace Section), and Ms. Sarah Rossi (Military Advisory). The session touched on some of the principal ideas of Human Rights, Social Development, Peace Building, the Intergovernmental Processes of the United Nations in Geneva and New York, and the processes within the OHCHR.
OHCHR
Human rights is a cross-cultural theme in all UN policies and programmes in the key areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance and economic and social affairs. As a result, virtually every UN body and specialized agency is involved to some degree in the protection of human rights. The Office of the High commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the leading United Nations entity in the field of human rights, with unique mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all people. A key thematic pillar of the OHCHR’s management plan is to work to prevent human rights violations in situations of conflict and insecurity. UN Human Rights works in the field to monitor how human rights principles and international humanitarian law obligations are being respected.
Included in the session was a detailed discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Human Rights Approach, and the UN Development System Reform. The speakers shared relevant anecdotes, video presentations, and detailed graphs to show the relevance and importance of Human Rights, especially in the current political climate. The next session of the Fellows is going to be on 5th August, 2022.