In July 2023, the UPR Project at BCU submitted a report to Mexico’s UPR, led by Dr Alice Storey and Dr Rafael Quintero. This report focuses on domestic abuse, particularly from a women’s rights perspective.
Researchers
Consultancy background
This Stakeholder Report focuses upon domestic abuse experienced by women and makes recommendations to the Government of Mexico on this key issue, implementation of which would see Mexico move towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5, which aims for “gender equality and empowering all women and girls.”
On 14 November 2023, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published its Stakeholder Summary Report for Mexico, which cited the Stakeholder Report submitted by UPR Project at BCU:
UPR BCU recommended to ensure that freedom of expression is upheld across the country, by educating authorities on the relevant international and regional protections. (para 43)
PPJG recommended the establishment of an alert system for gender-based violence and the creation of state programmes to prevent and deal with cases of disappearance. (para 63, UPR Project at BCU cited in the footnote)
Outcome of the Review
The outcome of the review published on 02 April 2024 in the Report of the Working Group provided the following UN Member State recommendations related to the UPR Project at BCU’s report:
Combat all forms of gender-based violence. Recommending states: Iceland (29.45); Lao People’s Democratic Republic (29.48); Cabo Verde (29.106); Viet Nam (29.213); Gambia (29.214); Chile (29.218); Croatia (29.219); Islamic Republic of Iran (29.220); Philippines (29.221); Algeria (29.223); Plurinational State of Bolivia (29.224); Dominican Republic (29.225); Maldives (29.226); Mongolia (29.227); Nepal (29.228); Norway (29.229); Republic of Korea (29.230); Sierra Leone (29.231); Argentina (29.232); Azerbaijan (29.233); Czechia (29.234); Djibouti (29.235); Ecuador (29.236); Finland & Paraguay (29.237); Italy (29.238); Ireland (29.239): Lebanon (29.240); Saudi Arabia (29.241); Slovakia (29.242); Spain (29.243); Sweden (29.244); Australia (29.245); France (29.246); Cyprus (29.250); Iceland (29.251); Bangladesh (29.252); Georgia (29.253).
Improve the operations and capacity of women’s justice centres and the specialized prosecutor’s offices for violence against women. Recommending states: New Zealand (29.247); Sri Lanka (29.255); Syrian Arab Republic (29.256); Honduras (29.313).
Ensure that the Gender Violence Alert Mechanism is adequately resourced and monitored so it is effective in achieving its objectives. Recommending states: Austria (29.248); Bahamas (29.249).
About the UPR Project at BCU
The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) has been engaging with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) since 2016. Under the auspice of the Human Rights Council, the UPR is an intergovernmental process providing a review of the human rights record of all Member States.
Through the UPR Project at BCU, the CHR we engage with the UPR through taking part in the UPR Pre-sessions, providing capacity building for UPR stakeholders and National Human Rights Institutions, and the filing of stakeholder reports in selected sessions. The UPR Project is designed to help meet the challenges facing the safeguarding of human rights around the world, and to help ensure that UPR recommendations are translated into domestic legal change in member state parliaments.
We fully support the UPR ethos of encouraging the sharing of best practice globally to protect everyone's human rights. The UPR Project at BCU engages with the UPR regularly as a stakeholder, having submitted numerous reports and been cited by the OHCHR.
