ADC submits contributions to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Switzerland
The Association for Civil Rights (ADC) participated in the UPR Info Pre-Sessions 42 held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, between November 29 and December 3. There, project leader Marianela Milanes presented ADC’s recommendations to the OHCHR on issues such as the omission of naming a National Ombudsman in Argentina, freedom of expression online, privacy, and data protection.
After the pre-sessions reviewing Benin, Switzerland, and Peru, Milanes referred to ADC’s contributions at the meeting dedicated to Argentina on December 2:
- Argentinian National Ombudsman’s Office: we expressed our concern about the failure to appoint a head of this body and the severe handicap it poses to the defense of Argentinian people’s rights (read here).
- Free speech: we mentioned the application of criminal law and surveillance methods to track, monitor, and punish comments posted on social media (read here).
- Privacy protection: we briefed on our views in four areas of interest: surveillance systems, security breaches in public databases, cell phone mining (MPE) tools, and health data (read here).
Summarizing our participation in these talks, Milanés concluded: «The UPR Info pre-sessions are a major opportunity for civil society to inform permanent diplomatic missions about the human rights situation in our countries. We hope that in the upcoming review, Argentina will assume voluntary commitments or accept exhortations from other States to address and improve the circumstances set forth.»
Prior to this meeting, Milanes had attended the 11th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, also in Geneva, where she took part in the section Gender and Diversity: How to incorporate an intersectional lens on BHR. In addition, she took part in the side event held by the University of St. Gallen, Artificial Intelligence: governing adverse impacts and developing its positive potential for children and youth.
