I. >> H  uman Rights and Indicators: Rationale and Some Concerns >> United Nations human rights mechanisms B. United Nations human rights mechanisms The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body consisting of 47 Member States elected by the United Nations General Assembly for a period of three years. The Council was created in 2006 by the General Assembly and replaced the Commission on Human Rights. The Council’s functions are, inter alia, to promote the full implementation of human rights obligations undertaken by States, to contribute to the prevention of human rights violations and to respond promptly to human rights emergencies.12 The universal periodic review (UPR) is a key mechanism of the Human Rights Council to review the human rights situation of all United Nations Member States in a four and a half year cycle. The review of each country is based on three reports. One is a national report prepared by the Government, while the other two are a compilation of United Nations information and a summary of stakeholders’ information, both produced by OHCHR. United Nations agencies and programmes, civil society organizations and others participate in the process by submitting information, which is then included in the reports prepared by OHCHR and discussed during the review. The review is a cooperative mechanism based on an interactive dialogue between the State reviewed and the Human Rights Council. It provides an opportunity for each State to declare what actions it has taken to improve the human rights situation and to fulfil its human rights obligations. Special procedures is the general name given to the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories (country mandates) or on major phenomena of human rights violations worldwide (thematic mandates). Special procedures are either individuals (special rapporteurs or independent experts) or working groups. All are prominent independent experts working on a voluntary basis and are appointed by the Human Rights Council. At the time of writing, there are 35 thematic mandates and 10 country mandates. Special procedures mandate holders report to the Human Rights Council on their findings and recommendations, including on their country visits and the communications they receive on alleged human rights violations. There are currently nine human rights committees, commonly called treaty bodies, for each of the nine international human rights treaties in force.13 These bodies are composed of independent experts mandated to review State parties’ compliance with their treaty obligations. They are created in accordance with the provisions of the treaty that they monitor. State parties are obliged to report regularly to these treaty bodies. Some treaty bodies are also empowered to examine individual complaints. Created in 1993, OHCHR is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization of all human rights by all people. The mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the United Nations, and strengthening and streamlining United Nations human rights work.14 OHCHR is the secretariat of the Human Rights Council, the special procedures mandate holders, the treaty bodies and the universal periodic review. 12. The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and a confidential complaint procedure are two additional mechanisms of the Human Rights Council. 13. There is also a Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. 14. The United Nations human rights programme started in the 1940s as a small division at United Nations Headquarters. The division later moved to Geneva and was upgraded to the Centre for Human Rights in the 1980s. At the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, the international community decided to establish a more robust human rights mandate with stronger institutional support. Consequently, Member States of the United Nations created OHCHR by General Assembly resolution 48/141. Human Rights Indicators 15