Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in March, the IPU Secretary General made an impassioned case for parliaments to participate in the Universal Periodic Review.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was established by the UN in 2006. It is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a significant innovation of the Human Rights Council which is based on equal treatment for all countries. Currently, no other mechanism of the kind exists. The ultimate goal is the improvement of the human rights situation in every country. To achieve this, the UPR involves assessing States' human rights records and addressing human rights violations wherever they occur.

IPU Secretary General Johnsson said that parliament's mandate to legislate and ensure executive accountability was of the utmost importance to the work of the Council. Without parliamentary legislation and scrutiny, few of the recommendations that emerged from the UPR process would be implemented.

However, an IPU survey to chart how much parliaments knew about the UPR had found that the vast majority of parliaments were not even aware of its existence. How could they possibly provide input into national reports, observe the discussion on their country's reports in the Council and - crucially - oversee the implementation of the recommendations? The UPR should not be reserved purely for governments, national human rights institutions and NGOs, said Johnsson. It should be open to the participation of parliaments.

In its most recent resolution on cooperation between the United Nations, national parliaments and the IPU, the General Assembly encourages the IPU to strengthen its contribution to the Human Rights Council, "particularly as it relates to the universal periodic review of the fulfilment of human rights obligations and commitments by Member States." The IPU does its best to live up to this recommendation and to familiarise parliaments with the UPR. Experience shows that once parliaments are informed, they are keen to contribute. Although they are regrettably not among the stakeholders listed in General Assembly Resolution 60/251 which establishes the Human Rights Council and the UPR, the Council itself does have the means to involve parliaments, which would be in its best interest.