Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Org type	Agency
Status	Active
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland New York City, United States

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a special part of the United Nations. Its main job is to promote and protect human rights around the world. These rights are promised under international law and are written in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. The OHCHR was created on December 20, 1993, after a big meeting called the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

This office is led by a person called the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This person helps organize all human rights activities across the United Nations System. They also act as the main support for the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The current High Commissioner is Volker Türk from Austria. He started his role on September 8, 2022.

In 2018–2019, the OHCHR had a budget of about US$201.6 million. This was a small part (3.7 percent) of the total United Nations budget. Around 1,300 people work for the OHCHR in Geneva and New York City.

What OHCHR Does
Past High Commissioners for Human Rights
Concerns Raised
See also

What OHCHR Does

Why OHCHR Exists

OHCHR celebrating 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kenya.

The OHCHR's work comes from important United Nations documents. These include the Charter of the United Nations and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The United Nations General Assembly officially created the High Commissioner's job in 1993. Later, in 1997, the OHCHR and the Centre for Human Rights joined together to form one strong office.

Main Goals of OHCHR

The OHCHR has several key goals:

To help everyone enjoy all human rights. They do this by putting the United Nations' goals into action.
To be a leader on human rights issues. They highlight how important human rights are both globally and within countries.
To encourage countries to work together for human rights.
To guide and connect human rights efforts across the entire United Nations system.
To promote that all countries agree to and follow international human rights rules.
To help create new human rights standards.
To support human rights groups and bodies that check if countries are following treaties.
To act when serious human rights violations happen.
To take steps to prevent human rights problems.
To help countries set up their own human rights organizations.
To carry out human rights activities and operations in different places.
To offer education, information, advice, and practical help in the field of human rights.

How OHCHR is Organized

The OHCHR is divided into different teams. It is led by the High Commissioner, who is a very senior official.

High Commissioner for Human Rights

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is in charge of all OHCHR activities. They report to the Secretary-General. The High Commissioner advises the Secretary-General on human rights policies. They also make sure that human rights projects and bodies get the support they need. The High Commissioner represents the Secretary-General at human rights meetings. They also work to promote human rights that are not yet fully recognized in international law.

Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights

The High Commissioner gets help from a Deputy High Commissioner. This person takes over when the High Commissioner is away. The Deputy High Commissioner also handles specific tasks given by the High Commissioner. The current Deputy High Commissioner is Kate Gilmore from Australia.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (New York)

This person is based in New York City. They lead the OHCHR office there. Their job is to represent the High Commissioner at the United Nations Headquarters. They also help make sure human rights are included in the plans and activities of other UN groups in New York. The current Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights is Ilze Brands Kehris [fr].

Staff Office of the High Commissioner

This office helps the High Commissioner manage and oversee all human rights programs. They help create and carry out policies. They also help the High Commissioner work with governments, other UN groups, and non-governmental organizations. This office also helps with fundraising and special projects.

Administrative Section

This section helps with money, staff, and general office matters for the human rights program. They advise the High Commissioner on budgets and personnel.

New York Office

The New York Office represents the High Commissioner at the UN Headquarters in New York. They give advice on human rights issues. They also provide information to UN departments, countries, and the media. This office supports the High Commissioner and other officials when they are in New York.

Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division

This division works to promote the right to development. They do research on many human rights issues. They also support the work of special experts who look into human rights problems. This division helps create new human rights rules and manages human rights information.

Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division

This division helps organize meetings for the United Nations Human Rights Council and other human rights groups. They make sure these groups get the support they need. They also help prepare reports from countries about their human rights efforts.

Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division

This division helps governments with advice and practical help on human rights. They manage funds for technical cooperation. They also support groups that investigate human rights situations in different countries. This division plans and supports human rights work happening in various places around the world.

Past High Commissioners for Human Rights

Navi Pillay (center), who was High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

**United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights**
Name	Country	Term	Notes
José Ayala Lasso	Ecuador	1994–1997
Mary Robinson	Ireland	1997–2002	Her term was not extended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Sérgio Vieira de Mello	Brazil	2002–2003	He was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad in 2003.
Bertrand Ramcharan	Guyana	2003–2004	Acting High Commissioner
Louise Arbour	Canada	2004–2008	She chose not to serve a second term.
Navi Pillay	South Africa	1 September 2008 – 31 August 2014	Her time in office was extended for two more years.
Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad bin Zeid al-Hussein	Jordan	1 September 2014 – 31 August 2018
Michelle Bachelet	Chile	1 September 2018 – 31 August 2022	Chosen by the General Assembly in 2018.
Volker Türk	Austria	8 September 2022 – 31 August 2026

Concerns Raised

In 2020 and 2021, a journalist shared information about concerns regarding the OHCHR. These concerns were about the OHCHR sharing names of people involved in UN human rights activities with certain countries when asked. This happened several times over many years. In some cases, after a country got a person's name from the UN, that person was not able to leave their country to attend meetings in Geneva.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights facts for kids

Contents