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3. Your opportunities to engage

3.7 Country visits – Why are they useful?

You can engage with Special Procedures in all areas of their work – communications, statements and press releases, country visits, and thematic reports - and by following up on Special Procedures’ actions.

This and the next section focus on:

Country visits

When Special Procedures visit a country, they draw attention to human rights violations, to individual cases, to problems in laws and policies. They also make recommendations on what the government and other actors can do to improve the situation.

All of this can be used (and shaped!) by you in your advocacy.

Below you'll find questions to help you consider why country visits be useful to your advocacy, followed by some examples of how other human rights defenders have done so.

For more information on what they are, see ISHR Academy: Country visits – What do the Special Procedures do?

Reflection Questions

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A country visit offers the opportunity to:

  • Obtain a UN report with recommendations for your government (if it’s an official visit)
  • Allow victims to speak for themselves and engage directly with Special Procedures
  • Increase understanding by Special Procedures regarding a specific issue or case
  • Raise awareness of a human rights issue at the international level
  • Expose an issue in front of other States (especially once the report is presented to the Human Rights Council)
  • Build relationships with mandate holders for future action
  • Engaging with a Special Procedure during a visit could lead to reprisals by your government. See ISHR Academy: What to do if you face reprisals when engaging with the UN?
  • Unofficial visits require resources to convince Special Procedures to visit, to organise the event, and to cover the costs

Remember:

  • Reports on country visits can take up to a year to be published
  • Unofficial visits are also possible without a government invitation
  • Follow-up to country visits are often not prioritised by mandate holders

Examples of using country visits

Defender Story

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Brazil – Civil society’s influence on a country visit by Special Rapporteur

In 2022, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Voule, visited Brazil to learn about the situation of peaceful assembly and association. Civil society was crucial for this visit, as they are the directly impacted group and have the most information on how the Brazilian government treats their right to peacefully assemble and associate (Jair Bolsonaro was the President at that time and threatened several democratic principles).

The Special Rapporteur met with human rights defenders, trade union leaders, representatives of Indigenous Quilombola and local communities, medical associations, Black-women-led organisations, and more. These groups raised their concerns with the Special Rapporteur, highlighting those acts by the Brazilian State that most infringe on their ability to peacefully assemble and associate.

Because of civil society’s engagement with the Special Rapporteur, he was able to cite their concerns and issues in his report and share recommendations to the 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council. He stresses that Brazilian authorities ‘should recognize the essential role played by civil society in transforming Brazil into a more equal and just society and in safeguarding Brazilian democracy against those working to undermine it’. After the Special Rapporteur reported his findings to the 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council in May 2023, the General Assembly adopted the resolution on civil society space in July 2023. This resolution referenced the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association twice.

Reports:

Resolution:

Continue to the next section for tips on how to get a visit to your country.

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