GENEVA (14 February) - The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee will hold its thirty-first session from 19 to 23 February in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Chamber (Room XX) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Over the course of the one-week session, the Committee’s 18 independent experts* – who serve as the Council’s think tank - will continue its work on the following mandates:
- The impact, opportunities and challenges of neurotechnology with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights (HRC resolution 51/3)
- The human rights implications of new and emerging technologies in the military domain (HRC resolution 51/22)
These reports are slated to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-seventh session in September-October 2024 and its sixtieth session in September-October 2025, respectively.
During the week-long session, the Committee will also hold discussions on its methods of work and continue to discuss research proposals that could be submitted to the Human Rights Council, as well as on reflection papers.
The Committee’s plenary meetings are open to the media. Documentation relating to the thirty-first session, including the agenda and programme of work, is available on the Advisory Committee’s session webpage.
Background
The Advisory Committee is a body of 18 independent experts serving as a “think tank” to the United Nations Human Rights Council. It was established in 2008, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, to provide studies and research-based advice, as requested by the Council, and meets twice a year. The Committee’s work is implementation-oriented and follows thematic issues linked to the mandate of the Council, namely, the promotion and protection of all human rights. It interacts with States, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organisations and other civil society representatives.
* The current composition of the Advisory Committee and the term of membership of each expert are as follows: Nurah Alamro (Saudi Arabia, 2024); Noor Al Malki Al-Jehani (Qatar, 2025); Joseph Gérard Angoh (Mauritius, 2026); Buhm-Suk Baek (Republic of Korea, 2026*); Nadia Amal Bernoussi (Morocco, 2026*); Rabah Boudache (Algeria, 2025); Aldo de Campos Costa (Brazil, 2025); Milena Costas Trascasas (Spain, 2025*); Riva Ganguly Das (India, 2026); Sebastião Da Silva Isata (Angola, 2025); Jewell Major (Bahamas, 2025); Javier Palummo (Uruguay, 2025*); Vasilka Sancin (Slovenia, 2025); Patrycja Sasnal (Poland, 2026*); Vassilis Tzevelekos (Greece, 2024); Catherine Van de Heyning (Belgium, 2026*); Frans Viljoen (South Africa, 2024); and Yue Zhang (China, 2025).
[*Member serving second term]
