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The Special Procedures are an essential mechanism for human rights protection within the United Nations. Its mandates encompass all human rights: civil, cultural, environmental, economic, political, and social. They have the ability to perform thematic studies, conduct country visits, receive information from civil society, issue statements and report on allegations of human rights violations in all countries, and submit reports with recommendations to the States through the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly.

According to the United Nations, they are often the only mechanism that alerts the international community regarding certain human rights issues, and oftentimes is the only mechanism available, given that its mandate does not necessarily depend on the ratification of specific treaties.

There are currently 45 thematic mandates and 14 country-level mandates.

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Application form details

After completing the survey, applicants should complete and submit an application form, which varies according to the mandate/position to which they are applying. Forms can be downloaded from the respective selection process webpage. To apply to more than one position, applicants must submit a specific form for each mandate.

The form must be completed in its entirety prior to the deadline and sent by email to ohchr-hrcspecialprocedures@un.org

There are clear instructions for filling in the forms. We highlight the following important guidelines, among others:

Candidates must select only one nationality, which shall be used as a reference for the selection process, including in the published list of admissible candidates.

Some mandates do not have geographic limitations. Nonetheless, in the case of vacancies in the Working Groups and some Expert Mechanisms, the applications must be from nationals of the States belonging to the specific Regional Groups for which vacancies have been announced. In the case of members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, candidates must represent the indigenous sociocultural region for which the corresponding vacancy has been announced.

The section on work background must be fully completed without any abbreviations. This section is important for determining the eligibility of candidates based on an essential criteria: professional experience in the field of human rights. According to the practice established by successive Consultative Groups, candidates are deemed eligible if they hold an advanced university degree – such as a Master’s or equivalent (a minimum of four years of full-time study) – and at least seven years of relevant professional experience in the field of human rights. A minimum of 11 years of relevant professional experience in the field of human rights can be accepted in lieu of a higher-education university degree.

The applications should be completed and submitted within the stated timeframes, which tend to expire at 12:00 pm (that is, noon/midday), Geneva, Switzerland time.

GQUAL's purpose is to consolidate gender parity as a key criteria alongside the rest. Despite being recognized, gender balance is not always checked and there are no mandatory guidelines to guarantee it. Women have historically been underrepresented in the Special Procedures and there are still Special Rapporteurships that have never been held by a woman. Maintaining the recently achieved gender parity requires measures that demand the application of this criterion along others throughout the various stages of the process.

The most developed roadmap for consolidating gender parity in the Special Procedures can be found in the HRC Advisory Committee's report mandated by HRC Resolution 41/6 (2019) titled “Current Levels of Representation of Women in Human Rights Organs and Mechanisms: Ensuring Gender Balance” (2021). Both the resolution and report were promoted by GQUAL.

GQUAL continues to work for its implementation, including through Resolution A/HRC/50/L.22/ of the HRC, which commits States and UN agencies to monitor its implementation. Learn more here.

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Application documents and requirements are not entirely accessible. On the one hand, they are available and must be completed in English or French, limiting access to many people with relevant experience and expertise for the position, and specifically affecting people from the Global South. On the other hand, the type of expertise and credentials assessed to evaluate minimum experience tends to prioritize academic backgrounds and accumulated years of studies, limiting the possibilities of people with different profiles and educational experiences to access the positions, including members of indigenous communities and people from civil society.

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Despite being a criterion considered at these stages, it is not mandatory for the Consultative Group to ensure parity in the lists or to promote women in positions characterized by historical underrepresentation. The parity rules adopted by the members of the Consultative Group in 2015 have not been maintained by other compositions and the working methods adopted by the Council do not establish it as a rule.

Nonetheless, these measures have been encouraged by the Human Rights Council in its Resolution A/HRC/RES/41/6 in 2019 and recommended by the Advisory Committee in its 2021 Report. Since then, the participation of women has increased, reaching parity.

At GQUAL, we continue to stress the importance of implementing this practice in institutional guidelines that guarantee sustainability and avoid setbacks. Read more about the Advisory Committee Report Recommendations here.

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Special Procedures and Expert Mechanisms of the
United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC)

The Special Procedures consist of an individual (known as the “Special Rapporteur” or “Independent Expert”) or a group of experts (Working Group) comprised of five people, one for each UN Regional Group (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe and other States). The Expert Mechanisms are comprised of a group of experts who support the HRC by carrying out studies and making recommendations regarding specific matters. There are currently two Expert Mechanisms: one focused on Indigenous Peoples and the other on the Right to Development.

The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, Working Groups, and members of the Expert Mechanisms are appointed by the HRC and serve in their personal capacities. The mandate holders are not United Nations personnel and do not receive a salary or any financial compensation (travel costs). They serve a three-year period, which can be extended for an equal additional term.

The Special Procedures are some of the few spaces monitored by GQUAL, in which individuals can present their candidacy without needing a State nomination, or can be nominated by third parties, including civil society. Nonetheless, the designation process involves States through their diplomatic representatives and other HRC authorities. Our experience has shown that these factors, along with the criteria and steps explained below, also impact appointments.

The selection and appointment process for the Special Procedures and Expert Mechanisms is mainly regulated in the annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1, of June 18, 2007, and in the Statement of the President PRST OS/14/2, of December 16, 2020, which regulated the working methods of the Consultative Group of the Human Rights Council.

i More information
  • · STEP 1 ·
  • Application
  • · STEP 1 ·
  • Application
  • · STEP 1 ·
  • Application

Application

I. Learn about vacancies

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights publishes vacancies prior to the Council session where the positions will be appointed. Generally, vacancies are published three and a half months before the beginning of the session in which the appointments are to be made.

GQUAL seeks to provide access to information about the vacancies and raise awareness of them, including information on historical gender balance in international spaces. The information is available on our website, social media and through notifications sent via our Newsletters.

Application

II. Learn about the requirements of the positions

1. General criteria highlighted in Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1:
  • Expertise
  • Professional experience in the field of the mandate
  • Independence
  • Impartiality
  • Personal integrity
  • Objectivity

Individuals who are members of other human rights mechanisms or hold State decision-making positions can still apply for a vacancy. However, they must declare on the form the measures they will take to ensure that they do not accumulate these functions if they are appointed. In other words, the criteria of independence and impartiality make the exercise of the mandate incompatible with holding a decision-making position in the government or in any organization or entity that could give rise to a conflict of interest.

2. Technical criteria highlighted in Human Rights Council Resolution 6/102:
  • · Relevant background in education or equivalent professional experience in the field of human rights.
  • · Adequate capacity to communicate in one of the official United Nations languages.
  • · Relevant technical specialization: knowledge of international legal frameworks and principles of human rights, knowledge of the institutional mandates related to the work of the United Nations or of other international or regional organizations in the area of human rights; and proven work experience in the field of human rights.
  • · Established competence: nationally, regionally, or internationally recognized competence in the field of human rights.
  • · Flexibility/ readiness and availability of time to effectively fulfill the functions of the mandate and to respond to its requirements, including the need to attend the Human Rights Council sessions.
3. Criteria about representation in the mechanisms:
  • Gender balance
  • Equitable geographical representation
  • Adequate representation of the different legal systems
Learn More

Application

III. Apply

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides an initial survey necessary for application. All fields must be completed without acronyms or abbreviations. Candidates are encouraged to complete the survey first and then the form.

Access the survey here

The application forms are specific to each vacant mandate/post and are available in the posting that mentions the available vacancy. They should be completed, without exception, in English or French. CVs are not accepted - only the application form in Word format.

i Access the form here

The letter should be no longer than 600 words and should be submitted with the application form and a presentation of the candidate's vision for the mandate. As per the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council's language requirements, the letter must be submitted in English or French.

While recommendation letters are not required, applications - both individual and from third parties - can be accompanied by up to three letters of recommendation. When they are sent directly by third parties, they must be sent before the deadline to ohchr-hrcspecialprocedures@un.org, identifying the candidate's name in the email subject line.

Learn More
  • · STEP 2 ·
  • Selection
  • · STEP 2 ·
  • Selection
  • · STEP 2 ·
  • Selection

Candidate Selection

Human Rights Council Consultative Group

The HRC Consultative Group consists of five members, typically Ambassadors, who serve for a term of one year. Each member is nominated by one of the five Regional Groups and serves in a personal capacity. With technical assistance provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Consultative Group is responsible for drawing up a list of candidates to be interviewed for positions in the Special Procedures and Expert Mechanisms, as well as presenting a short list to the Council President for appointment (commonly comprised of three people).

The working methods of the Consultative Group have been approved by the Human Rights Council, through a Presidential Statement. More information on the Consultative Group and its membership can be found here. here.

At the end of its mandate, each Consultative Group publishes a report (“Legacy Letter”). These documents, available at this link, are relevant because they provide transparency for the Group’s work during that cycle, including how they assessed the requirements for gender balance and geographic distribution

At the end of the nomination period, a list of all individuals who have applied and are eligible for the mandate is published. In this initial stage, eligibility is determined based on having submitted a completed application and fulfilling the requirement of having a minimum of seven years of professional experience in human rights. A minimum of 11 years of relevant professional experience in the field of human rights may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

The list offers information regarding each applicant’s gender and nationality.

Based on the general and technical criteria, the Consultative Group selects a number of people to interview.

Those selected will be interviewed virtually by the Consultative Group. Applicants may request to be interviewed in any of the six official United Nations languages (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, English, and Russian). However, it is important, to keep in mind that questions will be posed in English/French during the interview to evaluate a minimum level of knowledge with one of the Secretariat’s working languages.

At least one month before the HRC session where the president selects mandate-holders, the Consultative Group submits a report to the president with a shortlist of top candidates. This list prioritizes individuals based on the Group's evaluation, ensuring they meet both general and specific criteria. The report is published here.

Learn More
  • · STEP 3 ·
  • Appointment
  • · STEP 3 ·
  • Appointment
  • · STEP 3 ·
  • Appointment

Appointment

Based on the recommendations of the Consultative Group, the President of the Human Rights Council consults with the different Regional Groups and selects the appropriate candidate for each vacancy.

This decision is presented in the form of a note verbale to the Council’s Member States and observers.

Generally, the President puts forward the first person nominated by the Consultative Group. Notwithstanding, occasionally the President can diverge based on objective reasons, justifying the decision in the note to the HRC.

The HRC Advisory Committee has recommended to the President that, in situations in which two candidates have the same merits, he/she should prioritize the nomination of the person whose gender is less represented. Occasionally, this measure has been put into practice, resulting in the appointment of women to positions that have historically been held by men.

In 2022, the HRC President played a key role in achieving gender parity in the Special Procedures. See our interview with Ambassador Federico Villegas, who served as Council President at that time, regarding the appointment process.

The Human Rights Council, oftentimes at the end of each session, approves by consensus the appointment of the individuals, taking into account the nomination made by the President. 

How can you find out
about the appointments?
UN Web TV
UN X oficial
GQUAL Web