A group of young people from all over the world participating in the World Peace Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, the City of Peace, modelled the activities of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the presence of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
Young people of many different nationalities participated in the simulation model, which aimed to help participants make recommendations to WYF.
This year, 115 youth participated in the simulation to represent 47 UNHRC member states, in addition to eight observer countries on the council, as well as 15 participants represented by NGOs and five participants represented by national councils. In addition, the President High Commissioner of the UNHCR attended the meeting.
The President of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees inaugurated the event, explaining the title and purpose of the meeting. He also named the participating countries. The High Commissioner then gave a speech explaining the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in safeguarding basic human rights during the coronavirus pandemic.
Then the heads of the council, the Member States and the observers gave speeches. Finally, non-governmental organizations and national councils spoke at the end of the meeting.
The WYF administration took all possible steps to simulate the setting as the UNHRC headquarters in Geneva. In addition, preparatory workshops were held to train participants over two days on anything related to the Council and its rules of procedure. They were instructed on the proper way for the representatives of the states to write a speech and to respect the time allotted to them by the moderator of the session. Participants were also trained to write and vote on a draft resolution.
About the UNHRC
The UNHRC is an intergovernmental body affiliated with the United Nations. It aims to promote and protect human rights around the world, as well as to investigate allegations of human rights violations in the UN Member States. The Council also has the power to discuss all human rights issues throughout the year. It holds its meetings at the United Nations Office in Geneva.
It is worth noting that the International Council on Human Rights, at its 41st session, adopted the first UN resolution highlighting the contributions of the first and second editions of the WYF and where the WYF is considered an international forum for discussing global issues from its perspective.
