The specific tasks assigned to any Special Procedure vary according to the Human Rights Council resolution establishing the mandate. However, the tools or outputs that are available to the Special Procedures are the same.
This section focuses on one of the main outputs of the UN mandate holders:
Learn about how the Special Procedures can examine a specific human rights issue in depth through their reports.
All Special Procedures submit an annual written report to the Human Rights Council, which is made available on the OHCHR’s Human Rights Council web page in the weeks leading up to the session at which they will be presented.
The reports usually include a summary of the year’s work, and address emerging thematic or normative issues. The reports also contain recommendations for States and other relevant actors, such as UN agencies, businesses, and civil society. They can ask countries to provide information on current legislative policies, as well as call for a State to actively address a situation.
These official thematic reports are one way that Special Procedures play a role in the normative development of human rights.
During the Human Rights Council session, the experts make an oral presentation of their report to the HRC and engage in an interactive dialogue with States and other stakeholders, including NGOs.
During this dialogue, questions can be addressed to the experts on their present and future work, as well as on the normative development of the rights they cover. Special Procedures are sometimes asked by the Human Rights Council to provide an update on situations of particular concern or a report on a specific issue.
Sometimes the Human Rights Council will, by resolution, mandate a Special Procedure to report to the General Assembly. When reporting to the General Assembly, mandate holders engage in an interactive dialogue with only States, although NGOs can try to influence statements and questions made by States.
Mary Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, has often used her thematic reports to bring attention to how defenders have either been left out of or have had a hard time accessing international spaces— in particular those supporting migrants and asylum seekers, women negotiating peace in conflict zones, or children defending rights in their own communities.
These reports detail not only the particular threats and situations each group of defenders face—but also how social norms, legal frameworks, and UN systems have failed to protect, support, and even acknowledge their work. Importantly, these reports highlight how for defenders who belong to more than one overlooked or excluded group, these challenges intersect and compound.
Uniquely, in her 2022 report marking the anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, she shifted the tone to focus not on violations but on hope, persistence, and real-world victories that defenders have secured, even in hostile environments. Importantly, the report was still about making something visible - the uncredited successes of human rights defenders.
Through these examples, the Special Rapporteur has demonstrated the value of thematic reporting by deliberately focusing on what is often overlooked. In doing so, she not only effectively documented harms, risks, and challenges, but also insisted on recognition and provided visibility to those most affected.
Reports:
Special Procedures are not limited to producing their official thematic reports, and can contribute to other policy documents being developed through State-led, NGO-led or even academia-led processes.
For example, two Special Rapporteurs were in the group of experts that drew up the Yogyakarta Principles Plus 10, and various current and former Special Procedures were involved in an expert group that elaborated and adopted the Model National Law on the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders as well as the Declaration +25 on human rights defenders.
Go to the previous sections and the next section to find out more about other tools and outputs of the Special Procedures, including: communications, statements and press releases, country visits, and follow-up activities.
